Prophecies? Why do we always get involved
by Tealya
Summary: Running away from Saillune, strange prophecies, and the reunion of the slayers gang. All this and weird birds too. (Lots of A/Z in the beginning and L/G later)
1. The Blue Bird

Oh, hey, look, it's me again. Well, look at that, I've got another story going. This one follows my last one, Monster Blood. If you haven't read it, that's alright. You can pick it up pretty quick when things from the last story overlap (which wont really be for a while).  
  
Well, I'll say it now, I'm a supporter of the cannon couples (if you haven't noticed already), though I do love it when Filia and Xellos fight. This is, in most respects a very Zel/Amelia fic with some Lina/Gourry in it. It may also be a bit sappy in some parts. If you don't like these couples or a little mushy stuff, then you'll hate me as you read through the story so don't bother reading. If you do like those couples, then please, by all means, read on and please review. I love hearing what people think, good or bad. It helps make my writing better.  
  
As always I don't own slayers. A bunch of Japanese people do, and not being Japanese, I don't stand a chance of ever getting to own it. I make no money off of this so don't sue me. I don't have anything you want anyway (just some brothers and a couple of cats that I would miss if you took). Also, ~*~*~ means a change in perspective but not in the scene and ***** means a change in scene entirely.  
  
*****  
  
It was a tempting target, he had to admit. It was just hanging there, waiting for him to take it. Now, it wasn't like he hadn't warned her many times before. He had told her, Cephreed knows how many times, that he didn't like her foot hanging that close to his face. He had warned her that he would take those little leather sandals with the cloth flowers on them if she did it again. It wasn't like it would be hard to take them. She couldn't really do much to stop him while this high up in the tree.  
  
The foot twiddled a little as the princess on the branch above him sighed contentedly. It had been a long time since she had had time to relax out side of the palace. Ever since he had returned with his stack of books, all he had ever seen her do was work. He hated to disturb her happiness, but her foot was just right in the way of his reading. With a careful and gentle hand, he grabbed her ankle. She jerked out of her day dream and looked down at him, smiling sheepishly.  
  
"Sorry, Mr. Zelgadiss," the black haired princess apologized as she balanced her leg back up on the branch. She turned back to the view they had of Saillune. It really was a great view, he had to admit. Even if you are a chimera, you can still appreciate beautiful scenery.  
  
He turned back to his papers. He had brought eight books back with him to translate. He had found all of them in an ancient temple and come back to Saillune because if its extensive libraries and temples that would have a way to translate them. Of course, the temples were more then happy to help in exchange for letting them keep the books when he was done, and the library was was always open for him because of a little persuasion from Amelia. Sometimes it was good to be a friend of royalty. While, so far, most of them translating had turned up with nothing, he had only gone through three of the books. The temples were still working on the others. They all, however, had been books on white magic and temple life. That was why he had yet to lose all hope in his findings.  
  
Amelia sighed again. He glanced up, slightly amused. She was wearing a simple white and pink blouse and pants along with her two bracelets on her wrists. Zelgadiss had chosen the right place to sit for most of the afternoon. She had always loved high places. He had thought he might regret coming back here to see her and know she had probably forgotten about him, but he wasn't. She had been happy to see him and welcomed him without question. They had talked about old times and about how they were doing now. Neither of them had seen or heard anything from Lina, Gourry, or Xellos, but Filia had written the princess often and told her about the pottery shop and Val, which Amelia had told to him. It had been a nice break from his traveling.  
  
"Enjoying yourself?" he asked as a light breeze picked up and brushed some of the strands of hair out of her face.  
  
"Yes," she breathed out. Her stress from before had been long forgotten. Zelgadiss had wondered what she had been upset about before, but didn't ask. Seeing her relaxed again eased a little bit of his own tension.  
  
"Told you, you would."  
  
"I know." She laid her head in her hands and glanced down at him. "Having any luck?"  
  
He shook his head. "No, not so far. Temples must be loving this, though."  
  
She giggled. "Yes, they mentioned something about giving you a small reward for bringing such valuable books to them intact."  
  
"You say that like it was hard."  
  
"Not hard, just rare. After all, they say they're older then the war of the monsters. They think one of them is over three thousand years old. It has a few spells on it to keep it from rotting and decaying away. It's a little washed out though."  
  
"It's that old?" he asked curiously. She nodded. "Huh. Place must have been older then I thought." He shrugged. "Oh well. Doesn't really matter unless it has my cure in it."  
  
There was a long pause. Each of them just sat, enjoying the company. The sun was setting painting the sky with brilliant reds, yellows, and oranges. The area was bathed in a pale pink light.  
  
"What will you do when you get your cure, Mr. Zelgadiss?"  
  
Zelgadiss thought about this for a moment, then shrugged. "Don't know. Haven't thought about it much. I guess I'll figure that out when it happens."  
  
"Oh." Again, there was a long pause. "We should probably start to head back before it gets dark," she sighed disappointedly. "People might worry."  
  
By people, he knew she meant her father, Prince Philione, but he knew better then to point that out. She didn't seem to be getting along with him lately. Zelgadiss knew better then to ask why, but that didn't stop him from wondering. "I guess you're right." He rolled up his papers and hooked them to his belt. He slipped off his branch and dropped to the ground. Amelia levitated down behind him. She smiled at him in her ever so innocent way and they walked back to the city.  
  
*****  
  
Amelia couldn't remember the last time she had been so miserable. The afternoon she had spent with Zelgadiss had helped ease her frustration, but the problem still persisted. She was lying awake in her bed, gazing out the window at the half moon. She hadn't slept well in the past few days, tonight being no different. She rolled on to her side, remembering...  
  
The princess sighed bitterly. Princess...she had come to hate that title. Once it had been something she had held high, but now it was nothing more then a brand keeping her from truly being happy. She gave an involuntary shiver as her fathers words rang in her head.  
  
Ã"You have a responsibility to this country, Amelia,' he had said. Ã"You must do what is best for your people. That doesn't always mean you must like it.'  
  
Ã"But if I were unhappy, wouldn't I be a bad princess,' she had tried to rebuttal. Prince Phil had only shook his head no. Ã"But why? That makes no sense!'  
  
Ã"I know this sounds unjust, sweetheart, but I'm afraid you must,' was all he had said.  
  
She snorted, hating it all. Where was the justice in that? she had wondered. More and more lately, it had seemed that everything her father had taught her had been nothing but lies. Why had he taught her to believe in truth and justice when he was only gong to contradict it when she got older? She was 19 years old. She could handle the truth, so why was he still being so vague with her. She hated it.  
  
The young woman's mind drifted to her old friend, Zelgadiss. He was free...well, yes he was cursed and all, but he could go anywhere he wanted and do what ever he pleased. Part of her longed for that life. Part of her wished she could throw away all her responsibilities to the wind like he did. However, the logical part of her told the girl she could not just run off like her sister. That wouldn't be fair to her kingdom or her people. Though she wouldn't mind getting a little time to just be off on another adventure like she use to have with Lina, Gourry, and Zelgadiss. She wouldn't have minded having Xellos along for the trip, even if he brought them nothing but trouble. At least that was something to get her away from all that was currently around her.  
  
She missed them all so much. She occasionally got letters from Filia, telling her all about how her shop was going and how Val was growing. Lina and Gourry never wrote or stopped by like they said they would. Zelgadiss had just shown up but she knew, cure or not, he'd probably pick up and leave again. It was just how he was. She hadn't the first clue about Xellos. He was Xellos, the great trickster priest, and he only showed up when he needed to use you for something.  
  
Finally giving up on sleep, she sat up and hugged her knees. She could just barely see herself in the mirror through the sheen curtains on her bed. She was a little thinner then she had been and her hair was an inch or two longer, but nothing else had really changed about her in the past two years. She may have been and inch or two taller, but she wasn't really sure. While she didn't look much like her father, she could still pick out a few things she had in common with him and she hated them.  
  
"Why do I have to be like him?" she muttered to herself. "Why can't he understand? It's not like I'm asking for him to let me wage war on another country." She slipped out of the bed and padded across the floor to her bathing room. She poured some water in a basin and splashed some of it on her face. She dried her face and went back out to stare at her reflection. "I don't see how any of that will make my people happy. It's not like it will really strengthen Saillune. It'll just make the council happy," she pondered aloud. "I'm beginning to see why Gracia left." She flopped down in the plush chair by her dresser and stared out the window again.  
  
She never realized she had dozed off until she heard a tapping on her window. Drowsily, she lifted her head from her hands and looked over at the glass. Sitting on the sill outside was a small bird tapping on the glass. She was suddenly wide awake. She approached the window and looked down at the creature carefully. It looked almost like a raven only it was a pale turquoise blue with ocean blue eyes. It stopped pecking at the glass with it's gray beak and stared back at her. When she didn't make any move, it began taping the glass again. It's feathers glistened like a polished stone in the moon light. Curious, she opened the window for it. The bird hastily flew in and landed on her bed. It cawed at her, sounding a lot like a crow.  
  
"What an odd bird," she thought aloud. She stepped over to the bed and kneeled down. She held one nervous hand out, half expecting it to peck at her. Instead, it hopped over and nuzzled against her hand affectionately. "Well, you are kind of cute," she giggled. "You must belong to someone." She made a quick inspection of its leg and found no id markers of any sort on it. "Well, then where did you come from?" she asked it. She didn't expect an answer, though it looked like it wanted to say something. She turned her hand palm up and it hopped on. It was rather light weight, even for a raven. In fluttered up to her shoulder to perch and nuzzled against her cheek. She giggled. "Well, I suppose you can stay until we find out where you came from. You need a name, though..."  
  
*****  
  
"You found a what?" Zelgadiss and Prince Phil asked at the same time in disbelief.  
  
"A blue-ish green bird last night," Amelia repeated. "He's still in my room right now..."  
  
They were sitting at breakfast when she had brought up the bird. The men exchanged skeptical glances.  
  
"And it looks like a raven?" Zelgadiss asked for the third time. He still wasn't believing most of this. He had never known Amelia to lie, but still; A blue-ish green raven did sound a little far fetched to believe, especially if it had just come to her like it was an old pet or something. The prince was obviously thinking the exact same thing as him.  
  
"And you want to keep it?" Phil asked. His daughter nodded. There was silence at the table. Phil was pondering her request. Under any normal circumstances, he would have gladly said yes, but this didn't sound like any ordinary bird. She had once brought home a pink cat that had turned out to be a person's familiar, which was why he was reluctant to say yes. He didn't want to upset his little girl, he had done that enough in the past few days, but he wasn't sure what else to do. Finally, he sighed. "Alright, we can take a look at it after breakfast." She gave him a happy smile he had seen so little of recently, and he couldn't help but smile back.  
  
The girl hastily finished her food and impatiently waited for her father. During the meal, the older man had one of his servants send word to one of the magic users in the castle so that the bird could be tested to see if it was anything bad, such as a monster. When they were finally done (much to Amelia's joy), they walked up to the girl's room. Zelgadiss followed simply for the lack of anything better to do. He was still waiting for the temples to send over some of the books he needed, and he couldn't translate anything until they did. Besides, if the bird was cursed or dangerous (and not that he didn't think she could take care of herself), he might be needed to keep her or her father safe.  
  
When they turned the corner down the hall, the saw her door was open. Amelia trotted down there, for fear that her bird may have accidentally been let lose, but gave a sigh of relief when she saw one of the palace's white mages holding the bird. The woman, Kyra, who had been one of Amelia's first teachers, sat in one of the chairs with the bird perched on her hand. She was feeding it a cracker. she smiled when she saw the princess.  
  
"He's a very nice bird," she commented. "You're quite lucky to have found him."  
  
"Then it's nothing more then just a bird?" Phil asked, stepping up behind Amelia.  
  
The mage shook her head. "No, there's more to him then that, but he's not dangerous. I think he may have originally been another color, but a student probably turned him into this color. He has a mild magic aura around him, but nothing that you wouldn't find around an animal that's been used for practice by students. Other then that, he's just a bird. And it is a male, by the way." The bird cawed happily and flew over to perch on Amelia's shoulder. He nuzzled against her cheek and then stared at the two men.  
  
"Certainly friendly, isn't he?" Zelgadiss commented.  
  
"So what are you going to call him?" Phil inquired. The bird fluttered off the princess' shoulder and landed on the prince's. Phil stared at the turquoise colored creature, not sure if he particularly liked it there. He had never really been much of a bird person.  
  
"Turquoise, since he's the same color as the rock," she happily supplied. The bird flew over to Zelgadiss, who held up a hand for the creature to land on. Amelia giggled. "I think he's trying to say hello."  
  
Zelgadiss gave her a curious look. He then glanced back at the bird. "Uh, hi... Turquoise... I guess." The bird cawed twice and hopped on to the chimera's shoulder. It cawed again and nuzzled against Zel's cheek, much the same way he had done to Amelia.  
  
"He'll need a cage," Phil commented.  
  
"I know," Amelia replied. "I can take care of him." She held out her hand and Turquoise flew back over to her. "I'm not a child." Phil frowned at her comment, but didn't say anything. 


	2. It All Started Over a Bowl of Rice...

Zegadiss crumpled the pieces of paper in his frustration. It wasn't here either. The book was useless! It hadn't helped him in the slightest. It had all been wasted time! He growled. He suddenly smacked all the books on the table off, watching them crash to the ground. He was about to grab the table in his little room and throw it against the wall, when there was a knock on the door.  
  
"Go away!" he roared.  
  
"Is something the matter Mr. Zelgadiss?" Amelia's timid voice called from outside. "I heard something crash and..."  
  
"I'm fine," he lied in a much calmer voice then before.  
  
There was a long pause. "It's almost time for lunch..."  
  
"I'm not hungry!"  
  
~*~*~  
  
Amelia stepped back from the door, feeling slightly rejected. He had been like this for the past three days. He hadn't even come out to eat anymore. It had started the day after Turquoise had shown up and it was only getting worse.  
  
"Alright, but if you need a break or anything..." she yelled in.  
  
"I wont," he interrupted. "Go away. I need to finish my work."  
  
She knew he was lying but let it go. She knew better then to press him for anything. She sighed as she walked away and held up a cracker to the blue-ish bird on her shoulder. He snagged the cracker and snapped it down. He loved the crackers she fed he for treats and never missed an opportunity to get one.  
  
"Poor Mr. Zelgadiss," she breathed out to the bird. "He works so hard for his cure and still finds nothing." She stopped and glanced back the way she had come from. "He could come out and eat though. He's going to make himself sick if he doesn't eat something. I don't even think he rests. Now that isn't good at all, is it?" Turquoise cawed in agreement with her. "Perhaps we should do something about that, shouldn't we?" Again Turquoise agreed. She smiled at him. "You're right. If he wont come to lunch, then we'll just have to bring it to him." Turquoise cawed twice.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Zelgadiss had just finished straightening up when there was another knock on the door. "I busy!" he snapped. There was no response. He sat in his chair and there was another knock. "I said I was busy!" There was another knock. "Go away!" Another knock. Zel growled and and stood sharply. He stiffly approached the door and yanked it open, ready to rip apart the disturbance. "I SAID I was BUSY! Are you DEAF..." he trailed off when he saw the small person with a bird on her shoulder at the door quiver. She was wearing a blue dress she often wore around the castle. He suddenly felt ashamed of himself. She hated it when he yelled and he had been trying so very hard to be nice to her. It wasn't always easy to be friendly when you were so frustrated. "Oh, Amelia. I thought you were one of the servants. Sorry."  
  
"It's alright, Mr. Zelgadiss. I didn't mean to disturb you but I thought you might be hungry so I brought you some lunch." The young woman before him held up the try she had been carrying. On it were a bowl of rice, some chopsticks, and a cup of steaming coffee.  
  
Part of Zel was touched. Here he was yelling at her when she had just been thinking of taking care of him. He had truly been a little hungry, but he didn't want to leave while he was working. "Oh, ah, thank you," he said rather sheepishly. He took the tray and was about to close the door when Turquoise flew in.  
  
"Oh, Turquoise, came back," Amelia cried, chasing after the bird. He flew up to the top of the four poster bed where he landed and settled himself. Amelia looked up him rather helplessly. "Turquoise, come down," she pleaded.  
  
Zel smiled inwardly. He closed the door and set the try on the little table where there was room. It was half off the edge of the table and not very stable. He pretended to ignore Amelia and the bird, though he kept one careful eye on her. After a minute or so of trying to coax the bird down, Zelgadiss sighed. "Just leave him there. He obviously wants to stay. I'll catch him later and give him back. I really do need to get this finished..."  
  
She sighed and took a seat across from the chimera. "I'll just wait. He'll come down in a few minutes. He's done this before. What are you working on?"  
  
"Translating," he stated dryly.  
  
"Translating what?"  
  
"A book, what else?"  
  
"I know that," she retorted. "I meant what kind of book and what's it about so far?"  
  
"It's a book of prophecies and spells and that's all that it's about." He didn't look at her. He kept his eyes focused on the pages as he worked on figuring out every word. This one was the hardest to translate because many of the pages had been exposed to water and the ink had run and faded. There was a long pause between the two people. She was watching him work and he was trying to ignore her but failing. He kept glancing at the black haired princess, wondering why she was watching him and not her new pet to see if the bird would come down.  
  
"You haven't touched your food," she suddenly commented.  
  
He looked up at her and shrugged, then turned back to the book. "I told you before, I'm not hungry."  
  
"Your lying," she remarked. He hated when she did that. He looked back up at her. "You haven't left this room for three days and no one has brought you anything to eat since then."  
  
"I'll eat it later. I'm too busy with this right..."  
  
"You don't look," she interrupted, a disapproving look on her face.  
  
"Don't you have other things to attend to!?" he snapped. She didn't flinch at his words like she had many times before when he barked at her.  
  
"No, I don't," she replied coldly. "Right now, I have you to attend to." She stood sharply and grabbed the chop sticks. She scooped a little rice up in them and held it out to him. "And I'm not going until you have something to eat." He glared at her. "I'll feed you if I have to."  
  
Zel snorted. "I'd like to see you try." Thinking she would leave it at that, he turned his attention back to the book.  
  
Amelia glared back. Well, if he wanted to give her a challenge, he had just done it. "If you insist."  
  
Her words caught him off guard and the next thing he knew there were a pair of chop sticks in his face. He jerked back and snagged hold of her wrists. Miraculously, she still held on to the rice. She put some force into her arms and pushed against his arms. She was no match for his demon strength, but she tried anyway. Zel pushed back lightly, though not enough to hurt or discourage her. When exactly this became a game, neither of them knew, but they were both soon rather enjoying this little battle of wills to see who would give in first. Amelia giggled at her attempts and Zelgadiss smiled back at her. Every now and again, he would ease up on some of his strength and let her gain a little, then push her back again. He lessened up some of his strength...  
  
Exactly how they ended up on the floor was not exactly clear, just that they were now sprawled out on the carpet. The bowl of rice, coffee, papers, and several of the books were scattered about as well. Zel snort out a half laugh and started to pick himself off the floor and froze. His eyes shot open as they stared into Amelia's own ocean blue pupils. She was lying stalk still underneath him. Their noses almost touched. Neither of them moved. Neither of them were really sure what to do. Part of Zelgadiss' mind told him to jump off and back away while apologizing profusely. Part of him ordered him to stay right where he was and not move until she did. Yet another part screamed to kiss her. The last part of him cried out that he do something other then just sit there. Timidly, he bent down a little lower and touch his lips just barely to hers. Like a deer caught in a lighting spell, she didn't move. She neither fought nor returned the kiss.  
  
When he pulled back, he stared at her fearfully. She seemed too stunned to do anything. He was expecting her to cry out for guards, or yell at him, or hit him. She closed her eyes and leaned up to kiss him back. He didn't fight her. He didn't want to fight her. One of her hands suddenly reached up behind his head and threaded into his stiff, wire hair.  
  
He deepened the kiss, both parting their lips slightly. Her other hand slid up to rest on his back. He used one hand to support his body up and not put his full weight on her, for fear of hurting her; the other traced down to rest on her hip. A shiver ran down his spin at the sensations he was feeling. He could feel her shudder inwardly as well. She pressed her body up against his. He clutched tighter to her hip, pulling all of her as close as possible. While still supporting himself up, he slipped one hand under her and rubbed it over her back. His second hand traced up her body from her hip, passing over one of her breasts, to cup her smooth cheek.  
  
She didn't fight him as he had expected her to. She held on tighter. Gods, how he had dreamed of holding her like this on more then one occasion, but he had never expected her to allow him such a pleasure before. His hand traced back down her body. She let out a soft moan of pleasure as he did so. The hand on his back traced over his shoulder and rested on his chest. Her fingers seemed to trace a line of fire through his shirt. His hand ran further down to rest on her thigh and pull her leg up against his side.  
  
"Mr. Zelgadiss, are you alright...AMELIA!" a familiar voice screeched as the door was pushed open. The pair suddenly jumped apart as if the other had been suddenly turned in to ice.  
  
"Daddy!" Amelia squealed as she turned a brilliant red. She was scrambling to her feet along with Zelgadiss, who was as bright red as she was.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Phil's first reaction was to shocked and stunned. This is the first phase of reactions. Unfortunately for poor Zelgadiss, that phase doesn't last too long. As his mind processed what he had seen, his eyes began to burn with rage. How dare someone touch his little girl! How dare anyone try to defile her good name for his own pleasure! She was an innocent girl! He growled and focused his rage on the chimera. As far as Phil's instincts were concerned, Zelgadiss Grayweres had to die!  
  
Phil lunged for the much smaller man, grabbing Zel easily by the collar. He hoisted the partial rock golm into the air (which is not an easy feet for most people) and slammed Zel's back into the wall.  
  
"No, Daddy, don't!" Amelia cried as she grabbed one of Phil's arms.  
  
He ignored her entirely, too focused on causing the man who had laid their hands on HIS daughter great pain, if not death. "You!" he hissed, his voice dripping with venom. "How DARE you touch her!" Zelgadiss tried to protest, but he was having a hard time breathing, let alone speaking, with Phil's knuckles driving into his throat. "I should kill you were you stand!" He slammed Zel against the wall again. "I should end you miserable life right here with my bare hands!"  
  
"No, Daddy please!" Amelia begged. She had started to cry. In all her life, she had never seen her father this angry before. "Please stop! Don't hurt him!"  
  
Phil pressed hard against Zelgadiss' neck. His mind cried out for blood...this man's blood. A ear popping screech filled the room as Turquoise dived off his perch and scratched Phil's face. The bear of a prince jerked back, releasing his hold on Zelgadiss. Zel fell to the floor, gasping for air, Amelia running to his side to see if he had been hurt. Turquoise flapped his wing furiously as he struggled to stay afloat only a few inches from Phil's face. He cawed several times, redirecting the giant man's mind.  
  
The rage phase passed, and Phil became logical and peaceful once more. This, however, did nothing to lessen his anger. It just made him less likely to kill the unfortunate chimera. He watched as Amelia helped the man up and felt his rage begin to boil over again.  
  
"Amelia! Out! Now!" he barked. Amelia flinched at every word. "Go to your room! I'll speak with you there! And as for you!" He turned his attention back to the still stunned Zelgadiss. "In my study!" When neither of them seemed to be moving, Phil growled. "Now!" Knowing better then to dare try and test his rage, the two scurried out of the room, at off to where he had ordered them. Turquoise landed on Phil's shoulder. "And you just sat there and watched, didn't you!?" he hissed at the feathered creature. The bird cawed definitely and nipped Phil's ear. "Idiotic bird," the man grumbled. Turquoise dropped off of Phil's shoulder and flew off to find his owner.  
  
*****  
  
Zel waited impatiently in the study. He paced nervously. His hands were shaking slightly. Why did I do that? he mentally demanded. Of all the stupid things to do, why did I have to try that one? Because she was there, another part of his mind reminded him. "Damn it," he muttered out loud. "Why did I have to go and do that?" Because you wanted to, the little voice persisted. You've always done just what you wanted to. That's why you left in the first place, isn't it? You WANTED to find your cure. You WANTED to be human again. Well, you WANTED her, you saw a chance to have her, and you took it. Perhaps next time you should think before you act.  
  
She did seem to like it, a new voice insisted. She kissed you back, you know. It wasn't all one sided. It wasn't like you didn't enjoy it. He stopped his pacing, remembering how she had felt in his arms. Deny it all you want, Zel, but in the end, you do want her there again. You've been running in circles since you got here because of her. Maybe it's time to admit you can't always run and hide behind a stone mask...especially if...no, WHEN you become human again.  
  
Zel jumped out of his thoughts as the door clicked open. He stood very still as Phil walked in, stiff as a board. His cold gaze didn't meet Zelgadiss'. He sat at the desk and shuffled some of the papers on it, putting them away. "Sit," he commanded. Zel took the seat across from the prince. Phil looked up and locked eyes with the chimera. Zel could almost feel the loathing in the man's stare. "Are you aware of what you were doing?" he asked in bewilderingly calm voice.  
  
"Yes sir, I am," Zelgadiss replied, masking his own emotions with a calm tone.  
  
"Then I am certain you know why I'm angry."  
  
"Yes sir."  
  
Phil stood and walked over to the window that over looked the gardens. He took a deep breath and held it for a long moment, collecting his thoughts. "Were you aware of what I could do to you?"  
  
"Yes sir," was all Zelgadiss could manage to get out.  
  
"Then why did you persist?"  
  
"I don't know..."  
  
"Did you even think of the consequences?"  
  
"No, I didn't think..."  
  
"Exactly!" Phil interrupted with a roar. "You didn't think! You didn't think about anything but your own pleasure! You thought about how you could have your way with MY daughter! You didn't think for a second what would happen after that!"  
  
"Sir, I didn't..." Zelgadiss tried to protest, but Phil cut him off.  
  
"I was young once! I know what went through your mind!" He suddenly glared at the chimera, paralyzing the younger man with fright. "I know what you would have done! What your hormone would have desired!" he hissed. He turned fully around. "I would have thought you wouldn't be so bold as to try and use Amelia..."  
  
"I wasn't using her!" Zelgadiss snapped, suddenly bold. A serge of rage had flowed his veins at the suggestion that he would use her.  
  
The prince folded his arms together and glared at the younger man. "Oh, and what did you think you were doing, then?"  
  
Zel stopped to ponder the question. What had he been doing? He really didn't know. It had all happened so fast. He really hadn't thought about anything, even as it had happened. He had just acted, letting caution blow away in the wind. He recalled the situation: she had brought him lunch, Turquoise had flown on top of the bed, they got in to a fight/game over rice, fell on the floor, and then he had kissed her. He still wasn't sure why. "I don't know. I wasn't thinking."  
  
"That's what I thought..."  
  
"But I was not trying to use her!" he barked. "I would never do that! It's not like I planned any of that! It just...happened."  
  
Phil grunted at him bitterly. Zelgadiss doubted the prince believed him. Phil took a deep breath and sighed. "Once the books are finished being translated, I'm sure you will be on your way again," he stated coldly. Zelgadiss didn't have to ask what he had meant. It was easily translated as leave as soon as possible or else. "Now get out."  
  
Zelgadiss didn't hesitate. He hurried out the door, counting his blessings for not having his life ended in there where no one would have seen. While he had never thought the prince to be a violent man, he certainly knew better to cross him in affairs involving his daughter. He'd already lost one daughter and he wasn't about to let the other one be disgraced.  
  
*****  
  
The bird cawed protests from his cage. He didn't like being locked up. "Then maybe next time you wont go where I can't reach you!" Amelia scolded. She was sulking on her bed, lying on one side so she could stare out the window. She had had almost a whole hour to think about everything that had happened and she had come to one conclusion: she was just as confused now as she had been when it had happened.  
  
It doesn't make sense, she mentally sighed, rolling on to her back. He left, saying he had to find his cure and he wasn't sure if he would ever come back. Then he shows up again, saying he's only staying until he gets the books translated. Even if he found his cure, he said he didn't intend on staying. He seemed to have made it rather clear he didn't want to be around me, so then why did he kiss me? ...and like that?  
  
She rubbed a hand over her cheek where he had placed his hand. It had felt so wonderful when he had touched her. She had been so certain she had been over that crush, but now...? Now what? If daddy doesn't kill him, he'll certainly be banished. Oh, why did DADDY have to be the one to come in. If it had just been one of the servants, I could have bribed them.  
  
Why did you let him kiss you? a new voice protested. You could have pushed him back and said no...but that would have hurt him...and I don't want to hurt him...and I didn't want him to stop.  
  
Turquoise flustered in his cage. He cawed several times again, trying to get her attention. "I told you no," she sighed. "I'm letting you out right now. You're not going to get me in to any more trouble today." He didn't listen and began to flap frantically in his little cage. He seemed rather desperate. "I said no!" she snapped, sitting up.  
  
She stopped and stared as she saw the second bird perched on top of the cage. This one was just like Turquoise, only a dark, midnight black. It stuck its beak in the cage and Turquoise snapped at him. The black bird jerked back but seemed unfazed by Turquoise' attack. Amelia slid off the bed and cautiously approached the cage, hoping not to startle the black bird. It crocked its head to one side and stared at her. It watched her closely. Just as she was in arms reach of it, the black bird took off, flying out the window. Amelia watched it go, rather disappointed, though Turquoise seemed relieved. He had calmed down and was perched on the bar hanging in the center of the cage.  
  
The door handle turned, startling the girl. She jumped and gasped, clutching a hand the her chest, feeling her heart race. Her father walked in, a sour look on his face. She averted her eyes, so she didn't have to look at him and see the anger and disappointment in his eyes.  
  
"Sit!" he ordered, pointing to one of the chairs in her room. She did so, her whole body feeling weak. He watched her for a long moment, making her more and more nervouse. It felt like she had been sitting there forever before she mustered up the courage to look up at him. "I'm dissapointed in you," he stated blandly.  
  
"I know," she bearly breathed out.  
  
"You acted foolishly, without thinking. You could have disgraced yourself, your family, and this kingdom."  
  
"I know..."  
  
"I don't think you do know!" he snapped. She flitched at his words. "I don't think you realize what could have happened. What if I hadn't come in? What would you have done when he left? What if you had carried his child?" Each word carried more hatred then the last one. "You would have brought more then just shame on to the this kingdom! The brastard child would be thrown out! You couldn't keep it! Where is the justice in condeming someone to a horrid life as an outcast!? I am starting to rethink naming you as my sucessor. Reputable princesses do not engage in such activities, especially those in this family." He glanced down at her and saw her body tremble slightly as she tried to contain a sniffle and some tears. He wanted to comfert her, but he knew better then to do that. He had to remain strong, even if she didn't. He really hated to do this to her, but sometimes we all have to do things we hate. "You will have a personal guard with you at all times while he is still in this city and you are NOT to be alone with him. Do you understand?" She nodded weakly. "Good."  
  
He turned and left her there. He didn't dare look back, knowing he would lose his cold exterior at the sight of her tears. He shut the door harsher then usual, though it wasn't quite a slam. When he was gone, she burried her face in her hands and cried. She had never heard him say he thought she was a disgrace to the family, and somehow that had hurt more then anything else anyone could have said or done. 


	3. After Thoughts

He lay in bed staring at the ceiling, thinking. Alright, so maybe that hadn't been the best of ideas. It had certainly seemed like a good idea at the time. If had felt like a good idea... "Gods, I got to get away from here," he muttered. He sighed and rolled off to sit on the side of the bed. He demon eyes glared over at the books on the small table he had been translating. He glared down at his hands and silently cursed his body. If he hadn't been turned into a filthy chimera, he wouldn't have even been there. He wouldn't be here. Then again, his mind recalled, you wouldn't have ever met Lina or Gourry or...Amelia...  
  
Zelgadiss snorted out a disgruntled chuckle. "Life sure makes things twisted that way doesn't," he said to himself. He got up and began pacing. He couldn't sleep; he'd already tried. She was there, in his dreams, waiting for him. She had been there so many times since they had split up two years ago, but now it was worse. He had tried to forget her, but somehow, over those two years, she stayed with him. He had tried to say she was childish, but that had never worked. He knew there was only four years difference between them...well, three years and eleven months to be precise. He had always tried to keep his calm around her, but when they were close, he had always felt something. He said he didn't like to be touched, but somehow, with her, that was different. When he had come back, she didn't seem to show the same bright affection, though she did care for him...as a friend like any other, which had somehow disappointed him. She had obviously passed by him, not needing him to live happily like he needed her. Now, more then ever before, he was certain he needed her.  
  
He was regretting ever coming back here. It only made his repressed emotions surface and fester. It was making him weak. Unconsciously, he reached for his canteen where her bracelet had hung for almost all of those two years only to find the canteen and bracelet gone. He scolded himself mentally for forgetting he had given it back to her. Part of him wished he hadn't; it would have given his hands something to play with like he always did, before he came back, when he was nervous. Maybe some air would help, he thought.  
  
Pulling on a shirt, he walked out of his room into the dark halls. Light from the almost full moon outside spilled in through the windows to light his way as he walked down the halls. It was dead silent in the halls. Nothing could be heard. Even the guards on their nightly patrol were not making a sound. The garden, which could be seen through the windows was shadowy and almost foreboding. It was amazing how different the castle seemed at night. It reminded him of when he was a child and he use to be afraid of the dark. Eris had teased him about it on occasion, the main reason he had forced himself to conquer his fear.  
  
As he continued down the hall, he noticed someone up ahead. At first, he thought about turning back and going down another way. Then, he realized it was Amelia and really wanted to get away. Being seen with her with her was not exactly good for his health right now. Then again, he reminded himself, you're not going to get back to sleep unless you talk to her. Just tell her was all a mistake and you haven't been feeling yourself lately. It didn't mean anything, it was foolish, it will never happen again, and we should both just forget about it.  
  
Oh, yeah, right. You're going to forget that? Not a chance, a snide voice stated. You can't forget it and you know you'll do it again, first chance you get. His demon eyes focused on the girl who hadn't seemed to notice him. She was leaning on the sill of one of the windows, staring up at the night sky painted with stars. Her expression was sorrowful, and yet, strongly beautiful. The moonlight accented her skin, making almost glow a radiant white. Her hair had a silver sheen to it. She was wearing a pale night gown that glowed along with her fair skin. Gods, she's gorgeous. Looks like now or never. He mentally sighed, deciding he should talk to her now while they were alone. Her father, no doubtably, would make sure they were never alone together again.  
  
The chimera approached her, but she didn't seem to notice him at all. If she had, she showed no signs of it. A thought flashed through his mind: if had been intending on killing her, she would already be dead. This startled him slightly. The thought of someone breaking into the castle to kill the princess of Saillune scared him. I'll just have to teach you better then that, he thought.  
  
"If I had been intending on killing you right now, you wouldn't still be standing," he commented over her terrified gasp. She had whirled around to face him. He could faintly hear her heart beating rapidly.  
  
She let out a sigh of relief when she realized who it was. "0h, Mr. Zelgadiss, you frightened me..."  
  
"You shouldn't let your guard down like that," he stated rather coldly. "I'm sure there are many people out there who would love to assassinate you just to send Saillune in to chaos."  
  
~*~*~  
  
The princess looked away, trying to hide her shame. Her father had been right. She was an embarrassment. She couldn't even look out for herself anymore. "Sorry," she apologized since she didn't know what else to say.  
  
"You shouldn't apologize to me. You should pay better attention," he replied. The was a moment's pause between them. "What were you staring at?"  
  
"Oh, ah, the stars," she replied rather sheepishly. She found it amazing that he could be so cool and calm. She felt like she had a sword jammed through her heart. All this time she had been certain that she had forgotten her little crush, only to have it all come back. She had never known why she had ever felt so mentally attached to someone like him: cold, bitter, often reckless, and willing to step on anyone for his cure. Yet, she had. She quickly turned away from him, hiding a blush. She didn't want him to see her. She had really just wanted to be alone, but she couldn't go out and say that. She didn't want to be rude or hurt his feelings; though he didn't show it, he did feel pain and rejection.  
  
"Oh," was all he said. She could feel his eyes on her. There was a another awkward silence between them. Her blush got even deeper.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Say it now, his mind commanded. You'll never have another opportunity. Zelgadiss took a deep breath. It was now or never, though part of him was fine with never. "Amelia," he barely breathed out, "I..."  
  
"We need to talk," she interrupted, turning to face him.  
  
"Yes...we...ah...do..." It was his turn to blush. He noticed she wasn't looking at him, but rather something off to the side on the floor a few feet away. There was nothing there, of course. A slight bit of color crawled up on her cheeks as he watched her. "L-look, about what happened earlier..."  
  
"It was a mistake," she hastily supplied.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Neither of us were thinking right and we haven't been ourselves..."  
  
"No, we haven't. We should just forget it ever happened..."  
  
"Forget?" she blurted before thinking, then regretted it. Her blush got deeper. "How?" Her voice had been very hushed and he was certain he wouldn't have heard it if he hadn't had heightened senses.  
  
"I-I'm not really sure," he supplied. He looked away from her, trying to hide his own blush. They were both silent again. He didn't know what to say, and apparently, neither did she. He knew he would never forget it. If nothing else, he would remember it...probably cherish it. How could he expect her to forget it if he couldn't himself. Who says I need to forget? Who said she wanted to pretend it never happened? that annoying voice chided. You could always...No! I've confused her enough...I've confused myself enough! I don't even know what she thinks about anything...Well, there is only one way to find out...  
  
Before he really had the chance to think it over, he had reached out and pulled her close. She was obviously taken off guard and gasped as he touched his lips to hers for the seconded time that day. She didn't struggle, but relaxed against him. Her beautiful ocean eyes closed along with his.  
  
~*~*~  
  
If she was confused before, there was no way to describe her feelings now. Why had he said forget it and then kissed her again? ...not that she was complaining or anything. Amelia rested her hands on his chest, wishing they could stay like that forever. A small voice in the back of her mind, that she normally ignored, cheered the fact that she wouldn't have a guard tailing her everywhere until tomorrow and no one would interrupt them at this hour.  
  
She was slightly disappointed when he pulled back slowly. He didn't move too far back, though. Their noses were almost touching. She could feel his warm breath against the top of her upper lip. Her blood felt ready to boil. Cautiously, she opened her eyes. His eyes were half open, staring back at her. The moon light played across his face, making his stone skin shimmer. Oh Gods, he was handsome. Her blood only got hotter. The blush on their faces had faded.  
  
"Why did you do that?" she asked in a gentle whisper.  
  
"I don't know," he replied honestly in the same tone of voice as her own. "Why didn't you fight it?"  
  
"I didn't want to." She closed her eyes again and placed kissed him again. She broke it all too soon for either of their tastes. "Why didn't you?"  
  
"I...I...I'm not...sure," he stammered. He leaned down to kiss her again. There was a sudden clatter from her room only a few doors down. They pulled away from each other, startled, and blushed crimson again. There was some squawking from the room. "What the...?"  
  
"Turquoise!" the princess cried, running for her room. She burst through the door and found the cage knocked to the ground. Some of the bars had been bent from hitting the ground. The door was open. Turquoise came diving down at the sight of his mistress, landing on one of her shoulders and ducking his head under her hair. He was terrified of something. The bird glanced up at the top of the canopy bed fearfully. Zel and Amelia followed his gaze. At first neither of them saw anything in the darkness. Then, one of the shadows moved. It hopped to the end of the canopy and glared down at them with its black piercing eyes. "Oh, so you're back," the princess sneered.  
  
"Th-there's another bird?" Zelgadiss asked in almost disbelief, staring up at the black raven. This one looked a little bigger then Turquoise.  
  
"Yes, and he's a bully. He was picking on poor Turquoise this afternoon." Amelia glared back up at the black bird, hands on her hips.  
  
Zel looked from the black bird, to Turquoise, and back. "I can see that."  
  
"He probably knocked over the cage to get poor Turquoise." She reached up and lovingly stroked the blue colored bird. The black bird cawed, jeering at its blue opponent. It flustered its wings, losing a feather in the process. It turned up its strong ebony beak arrogantly. Turquoise cawed back at it, glaring. The black one puffed up its feathers bitterly.  
  
"Must be one hell of a fight," Zelgadiss commented, watching the two birds caw at each other. "Most animals don't hold grudges for more then an hour or two."  
  
"Well, that one does," Amelia sighed. "Even if he does leave, he'll probably come back later when no one's around."  
  
The birds continued their bitter exchange for almost five minutes before the black bird seemed to give in a flew out the window. Amelia and Zelgadiss had sat by, watching the whole thing, both slightly curious about what was going on between these two bizarre birds. As Zel was about to say good night and return to his room, he noticed something: despite all the noise, no one had come to check on the young princess. At first, he found it just plain odd, then disturbing. If it had been someone breaking in...The former unconscious protective instinct he had felt before suddenly came rushing back.  
  
"Say, Amelia, how long have we been here?"  
  
"Hm? Oh ah, about five minutes, I guess," she stated, glancing at the clock in her room.  
  
"I thought so..."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Don't you think it's odd that none of the guards have come to check on what the noise was?" he questioned.  
  
She thought about this for a moment before replying. "Your right. Someone should have come. At least the guard down the hall would have heard..."  
  
"Not to mention all the people sleeping..." he interrupted. He glanced back out the window. He could see the black bird perched in a near by tree watching them. "Something's not right here." He walked over and closed the window, scanning the gardens it over looked for intruders. All he saw were a pair of oblivious guards. He scowled at them and turned back to the nervous princess. She had her bird clutched close to her chest and was watching the chimera. He glanced around the room, trying to find anything out of place. Aside from the knocked over bird cage, nothing looked wrong...yet he could feel it. "I should stay here..." Amelia was about to protest, but he cut her off, "To make sure nothing decides to take advantage of the guards lack of senses. I'll be right outside..."  
  
*****  
  
As the sun was coming up, Zel could feel himself starting to nod off. He had stayed right outside her open door all night. Aside from the restless princess rolling over in bed, the rest of the night had been quiet. He had only left his post once during that time to get his sword now balanced on his knees. He glared out the window, hating how cheery the morning looked. He closed his eyes...  
  
He jerked himself awake again, not even realizing he had fallen asleep until he had woken up. He wasn't sure how much time had passed, but the sun had already come up. He leaned over and glanced inside the lavishly decorated room. Amelia was sleeping soundly with her bird perched on the headboard watching over her. He twisted back to his sitting position, all his stiff mussels protesting the movement. Oh, it's been a long night, he mentally reminded himself. His body started to nod off as his mind struggled to stay awake and screamed for coffee...sweet coffee...wonderful coffee...  
  
~*~*~  
  
It was early, yes he knew, but Amelia had always been an early riser. Just like her mother, the prince mused as he walked down the hall. Her room was in the second hall away from his and he wanted to speak to her before breakfast. He sort of wished she was in the same hall as his room so he didn't have to go as far.  
  
Phil had been thinking about it all night and thought maybe he had been a bit too hard on Amelia. He had said a few unkind things that he hadn't meant and was feeling dreadful about it. I really should apologize, he had decided. Amelia, as much as he hated to admit it, wasn't a child anymore and was entitled to make a few mistakes...he had let her go out in the world with Lina to learn on her own, after all. He could keep her under his wing forever. The truth was, he was rather embarrassed about how he had acted. He knew Zelgadiss would have never intentionally hurt Amelia, but he had let his over protective nature get the better of him...  
  
He stopped in his tracks when he spotted the chimera sitting outside her open door. He slowed his pace and approached cautiously. Zelgadiss was asleep. He peered in the room; Amelia was asleep as well. The bird was out and the cage had a rather large dent in it. He glanced back at the sleeping man. Now just what is going on here? he wondered, scratching his head. He leaned against the wall and stared at the young man.  
  
Zel suddenly jerked awake. He looked exhausted. He yawned and rubbed some of the sleep out of his eyes before he noticed the prince. He jumped to his feet, grasping at his sword which dropped anyway. The sound of it hitting the floor startled the girl out of her sleep and received a disapproving caw from Turquoise. Zelgadiss hurriedly picked it up, still only half awake. Amelia sat up groggily, moaning something about a bad night, cutting off when she noticed her father. Phil remained silent, waiting for one of them to speak first.  
  
"Daddy," Amelia sighed rather confused. She glanced at the clock, rubbed her eyes, and focused on it. As she realized the time, she gasped. It was almost nine thirty. She never slept past eight at the most.  
  
"Good morning," her father commented. Zelgadiss was still standing there as if not sure what else to do. He glanced at the blue stone skinned man. "Sleep well?" Zel didn't answer. "Is there a reason you were sleeping out here?"  
  
"Another bird attacked Turquoise," Amelia informed him. Her glanced back at her. "He knocked over the cage..."  
  
"And no one heard it but us," Zel hastily interrupted. Phil looked back at the chimera.  
  
"And Mr. Zelgadiss stayed to make sure no one had broken in..." Amelia trailed off, blushing slightly and looking away from her father. He got the impression more may have happened, but he didn't press the subject. The girl glanced at Zel and noticed how weary he looked. "Oh, Mr. Zelgadiss, you look terrible. You should go get some sleep." He was going to protest but was over taken with a yawn. Deciding she was right, he stumbled down the hall back to his own room to sleep.  
  
Phil turned back to his daughter and frowned. It wasn't a disapproving frown, but rather one of concern. He didn't like this news one bit. He was starting to regret canceling the personal guard for her this morning. He spied over at the bird. There was something odd about the bird, and not just his color. "Are you alright, sweetheart?"  
  
"Of course, daddy," she smiled. "No one was here..."  
  
"And you're sure no one heard anything?" She nodded. "Not even..."  
  
"The guards right outside the open window didn't hear it," she interjected. "I'm alright, though. Nothing happened."  
  
He nodded, listening carefully to her words. "Good to know...Amelia, about yesterday. I think I may have over reacted just a little..."  
  
"It's alright..."  
  
"No, it's not alright. You are not a child, and I shouldn't treat you like one. And the things I said. I didn't really mean any of them..."  
  
"I know," she said as she reached for some clothes to change in to. "We all over reacted, daddy. Now that we've all had some time to calm down and think about it, it doesn't seem quite as big of a deal as we made it and...well...I forgive you. I probably would have reacted the same way if I were in your shoes."  
  
Phil stared at her dumb founded. She may have looked young, but there were times when she seemed even older them himself. He sighed, grateful for the fact that his daughter still loved him. "Yes...well then, I'll see you at breakfast." She smiled brightly at him, despite her less then peaceful night, and he left, closing the door behind him. 


	4. Prophecy

Zelgadiss wasn't paying much attention to what he was translating. His mind was still running over what had happened two nights before. Why hadn't anyone heard? Who had put up a silencing spell, for that was all that he could think of that would have prevented anyone from hearing anything?  
  
He glanced at the washed out book. It had seen far batter days and he wasn't having much luck with it. Too much of it had been rotted or washed out with time. Some of the pages weren't even readable at all. Those that were hadn't been offering him much help. So far, it had all just been about some sort of disaster that had occurred, though he had yet to figure out where. The only reason he had not given up on translating it was because he had told the temple he would since he was more efficient at it with the older texts.  
  
"A waste," he muttered. Not one had his cure in it. He had come all this way back for absolutely nothing. He growled at the time he had wasted. Just once, he wished he could find something that would change him back to the human he had been before. Why was the universe so against him finding a cure!? He grabbed some of the papers with the translations on it and threw them in the air, frustrated. When all the papers had landed, he threw some of the books he had been using, letting them hit the floor, breaking the spines of some of them. He really wanted to destroy something but knew better then to do so here. He needed a way to let out his temper...  
  
He was cut off by a soft tapping on his window. He glared at the covered glass. He stalked over and ripped the curtains back and attack what ever it was that was disturbing his peace. He stopped when he spotted the raven from the other night. It watched him with one knowing black eye. It cawed and matched his glare.  
  
"Oh, so it's you," the man muttered. "And what brings you back here?" He opened the window, letting the bird in. Unlike Turquoise, this bird did not come flying in to make itself right at home. "Well, you've got a few more manners then your friend." He held out his hand and the black bird hopped on. Zel lifted the avian up so he could look it over better. "There's something odd about you two..." The bird cawed, interrupting him. "At least you admit it. You're not some little dumb bird, are you?" The bird ignored him and flew off his hand to the floor. It pecked around among the papers as if looking for something. Zel knelt down next to it, watching the creature with great interest. "What are you looking for?" He didn't really expect an answer, but said it allowed anyway. He picked up a few of the papers and glanced over them, trying to guess what the black bird was looking for. He stopped as his eyes skimmed over something interesting...  
  
~the destroyer of dark lords ... ... ... ... ... be the vessel for the mother of all things...~  
  
He read back to the beginning, now with great interest. He didn't remember translating this part...  
  
~...bring ... a child of great power... ... ... ... the destroyer of dark lords ... ... ... ... ... be the vessel for the mother of all things...~  
  
There were breaks in the text where the words had been to blurred to read...  
  
~...will create destruction ... ... ... a monster of white given blessings ... ... calling the powers of heavens and earth... ... ...  
  
... ... ... of ... demon blood ... healer ... ... ... ... master of ... life ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...  
  
... black dragon ... ... wisdom ... ... ... ... ... foster of ... ... ... ... evil ... ...  
  
... ... ... end of the world's life blood ... ... their ... shadow ... ... power ... ... ... birds ... ... death to all ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ~  
  
The chimera stared at the words, reading them over and over on the page. What did they all mean. There was so much missing. He knew he hadn't translated this...but who had. He whirled around the room as if expecting to see an intruder. All he saw was the little black bird who was now perched one of the books. Its cold stare never wavered from the man. He grabbed some of the papers and threw them at the bird. The avian dodged and flew out the window, cawing as he went. Frantically, Zelgadiss began searching for the next page that would have more translations on it. There had to be more. There just had to be. His demon eye grazed over the book it had come from. He snatched it off the ground and fumbled through the pages to try and find where it had come from.  
  
*****  
  
Turquoise watched the girl curiously. He had been given a nice tray of broken up crackers and bread crumbs to feed on, so he was content to stay on his perch on one of the chairs where he could easily reach his meal. The girl was reading over some papers that seemed important, though it was never processed in his mind why.  
  
His mistress looked up from her work and stretched. She had been there all morning after breakfast and it was almost lunch. She looked over and smiled at the bird. "Enjoying your lunch?" The bird cawed. She giggled. "I'll take that as a yes." She set down her feather pen and held out her hand. Obediently, he flew to her and perched there for her. She stroked him, much to his enjoyment. "You're a very good boy. I wonder who trained you so well." He cawed and hopped on to her shoulder. "And daddy said birds weren't very friendly..." she trailed off as the door opened. One of the servants slipped in a bowed.  
  
"Lunch will be served out in the gardens this afternoon, m'lady," the woman said before bowing a second time and leaving, closing the door behind her.  
  
Amelia paused, thinking this over for a moment. Why's daddy having it out in the garden, she wondered. Turquoise cawed, tugging on a small strand of her hair, drawing her out of her thinking. "Yes yes," she sighed, "You can come too. Just don't go landing on the table. Stay in the trees. Some of the guests may not appreciate you there." The bird nuzzled against her cheek, making her smile. "Though there are a few I'd be happy if you chased away," she admitted. "Not all of them are very nice, ya know." He crocked his head to one side watching her with his bewitching sea blue eyes. "No, I guess you don't. Well, you will once you see them. One's a prince from one of the outer land kingdoms. His father's trying to arrange a marriage between us with daddy. I don't really like him... he's kind of pushy and arrogant and pale and kind of sickly..." She giggled, remembering talking with him when he and his father had arrived. "Though, I suppose it's only fair to say that he doesn't really want to be here either. Maybe if you could just bother his father..." she trailed off as she tried to stifle a few giggles at the thought of everything her little bird could do to the balding man, who wore a horrible toupee to cover it.  
  
She quickly straightened herself out, knowing it wasn't just to think like that, even if it might have been entertaining. It was not proper of a princess. She knew the dinner party that night would be far worse with dancing. She knew her father would insist on her dancing with the rail thin man.  
  
"Oh well," she sighed. "Might as well get it over with."  
  
*****  
  
No, no. It couldn't be right. It just couldn't. Zelgadiss checked it for the tenth time since he had found. He had translated it right. He read it over for the third time. How could this be right. It didn't make since. This book was thousands of years old. Wouldn't this prophecy have already come true? He read it again. There were still so many gaps, including the whole bottom of one page, but its message was pretty clear. He needed a second opinion, someone else to look it over, another set of eyes. The black bird cawed.  
  
"No, not you!" he snapped. "You can't even read!"  
  
"Mr. Zelgadiss?" a female voice called from outside. "Are you alright?"  
  
The chimera's sense perked up. Amelia! Perfect! He need someone else to look at it, well here she was, right on cue. He grabbed the door and yanked it open, startling the young princess. "Amelia, I need you to read something for me." Without waiting for an answer, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her inside. He snatched the papers he had been writing on and handed them to her. Still a bit confused, she took them and read through them, glancing up at him every few lines.  
  
When she was done, she looked back at him, a little dumb founded. "Mr. Zelgadiss, is this some sort of joke..."  
  
He shook his head. "No, I found it in one of the books..."  
  
"But it..."  
  
"I know," he sighed, feeling defeated. He had been right. For once in his life he had wanted to be wrong and he wasn't.  
  
She read over it again. "Why are there so many blank spots?" He picked up the book and showed her. "Oh... ... M-maybe it's wrong..."  
  
"You'd like to try translating it?" he asked skeptically.  
  
She opened her mouth to reply but was interrupted by a loud squawking. Turquoise went diving under her skirt, tailed closely by the black bird. The black one stopped and landed on the ground glaring at Turquoise. "Ah, him again!" She ruffled her skirts at it, trying to get it to fly away. It just dodged her, cawed several times, and glared at the blue bird.  
  
"What is it between them?" Zelgadiss commented. "They're worse then Lina and Gourry over lunch..." He trailed off, frowning deeper. Amelia's expression changed from annoyance to faint sorrow as she looked down at the black creature. "Never mind."  
  
"She's not going to like any of this."  
  
"I would either, if I were her. She has to know, though."  
  
"And how are we suppose to find them?" she demanded in a hushed whisper.  
  
"I don't know. I haven't heard from them since we split up..."  
  
"I haven't either." She whirled around to face him. "Look, we have to figure out as much as we can about this prophecy before we do anything else. Knowing Miss Lina, it probably hasn't even begun yet..."  
  
*****  
  
Mean while, out in the garden...  
  
Phil drummed his fingers over the table top. Everyone had long since given up on waiting for the princess and started lunch with out her. That was almost an hour ago, though, and she still hadn't shown up. He refused to believe she was still reading the treaty he had wanted her to look over since she would be following him to the thrown, yet he had sent someone to check anyway. The servant he had sent said she wasn't there. He had them check her room, the library, her private garden. All had turned up negative. He couldn't think of where else she could be...well, there was one place, but if she was there he wanted to speak with her privately...  
  
*****  
  
The clock suddenly rang out a single chime, announcing that it was now one in the after noon. Amelia suddenly dropped the book. Zelgadiss, who had been sitting across from her, glanced up, slightly startled.  
  
"What?" he asked. "It's just one..."  
  
"Oh no," she breathed out. "I forgot! The lunch!"  
  
"So you missed lunch? The servants would probably give you something if you asked..."  
  
"No, that's not it," she stated in a panic, jumping up from her seat. "I was suppose to be talking with some visitors from the outlands were making a treaty with..." she trailed off, running out the door.  
  
She ran down the hall and a flight of stairs, taking the quickest way she knew to the public gardens. Turquoise flew after her, grateful for the chance to get away from the black bird that hated him so much. Just as she got through the door, she ran in to him, literally. The princess was knocked to the ground. She didn't have to look up to know who it was.  
  
"Oh, so you decide you want to show up now?" Phil asked a bit sarcastically. He did nothing to hide the slight anger in his voice.  
  
"Daddy, I'm so sorry," she nearly cried as she jumped to her feet for a second time.  
  
"I hope so," he sighed. "I didn't realize the treaty was that interesting..."  
  
"No, no, no. Iwaswalkingdowntocomeandeat and IheardMr.ZelgadissyellingatsomeonesoIwenttogoseewhohewastalkingto, and thenheshowedmesomethingthathe'dbeentranslating, and itinvolvedMissLina, and Ididn'tthinkitcouldberightsoIstayed and triedtotranslatesomeofit and IguessIlosttrackoftime and I'msososorrydaddy," she related in one big breath at a rapid pace. Had she not been so winded, she might have been tempted to cry. Hey, running in high heals is not easy.  
  
Phil frowned. "Now, slow down, slow down. What happened?" he asked in a much more concerned voice. It wasn't like his daughter to ramble like that.  
  
The girl took a few deep breaths before continuing. Turquoise, all the while, had landed on her shoulder patiently. "I was coming to lunch," she explained much slower, "When I heard Mr. Zelgadiss yelling at someone so went to see who he was talking to..."  
  
"Oh, is that where you were," he interrupted sounding a bit annoyed.  
  
Amelia's frown deepened. "Yes, but..."  
  
"Amelia, you are a princess of Saillune. You have certain obligations to fulfill and I expect you to do them. This is the third duty this week you have failed to be a part of. It is not only rude to say you will be somewhere when you will not, but it is an embarrassment to this kingdom." Amelia tried to protest, but he silenced her with a flick of his hand. "People will begin to look down on this kingdom if it continues. Now, I have several things to attend to, so we can discuss your behavior and duties as a princess later."  
  
He passed by her, leaving the princess standing there. She would have tried to follow him and explain, but her mind just didn't seem to want to work right. Turquoise cawed and she reached up a hand to pet him. 


	5. There Was What in Amelia's Room!?!

(Sorry this chapter took me so long. Got a mild case of writers block. It happens sometimes. Grrrr, I hate it though. I promise to get the next chapter out sooner. The next one will be shorter...at least I think it will be... Okay, I've rambled enough. Back to the story.)  
  
The girl sipped her punch. She had been right about the party being boring. Prince Alexander from the outer lands sat next to her staring blankly off in one direction. If he was paying any attention to what the person on the other side of him was say, he sure didn't look like it. What exactly he was thinking about was anyone's guess. The man asked him a direct question, pulling the young man out of his trance. Amelia just rolled her eyes. How unjust, she thought, watching the prince politely answer the question. If neither of us want to marry, why should we be forced to?  
  
Amelia spied around the room full of people eating and dancing. Most of them were diplomats or royalty from near by that had been invited. She had been hoping to see Zelgadiss, but found no such luck. She hadn't really expected him to come; he hated these types of gatherings, not that she could blame him right now. Normally, she enjoyed the parties thrown at the palace, but tonight she just had too much on her mind. Knowing something bad is going to happen to a very dear friend of yours does make it just a little bit difficult to have fun. She needed to help Lina, and she couldn't. She was stuck here. The princess sighed.  
  
She took another sip of her punch, glancing around the room again. It was better then listening to her father joke with the king or watch the prince tune the rest of the world out while half dreaming. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted something slightly blue. Zelgadiss? Yes, there he was near the door to the balcony, keeping out from the rest of the crowd. He was dressed in a suit, that she didn't even know he had, instead of his typical beige clothes. He made brief eye contact with her: just enough to be sure she had seen him from across the room. Then, he slipped out on to the balcony.  
  
"I'm going to get some air," she stated to her father, though she doubted he even noticed. She hurriedly pushed through the crowded and made her way to the balcony. He was standing there alone, waiting for her. "Mr. Zelgadiss?" she asked tentatively. He glanced at her, his expression unreadable. "I...I didn't think you'd come."  
  
"I hadn't originally planned on it," he stated, his voice as unemotional as his expression. He turned away from her, looking out at the court yard that the balcony over look.  
  
"Then why are you here?"  
  
He was quiet. There was a long pause. She was about to repeat herself when he finally spoke, "I'm leaving tomorrow...to find Lina. She has to know..."  
  
"I know," she whispered, part of her feeling hurt all over again, though she hid it. It was just like when he left. He had been so quiet and cold then too. "Do you know where to look?"  
  
He shook his head. "I thought I might ask Filia. They might have stopped by to see her since she lives in the outer lands. I'll let you know if I find them..."  
  
"Bring them back here," she requested. He looked back at her, a questioning look on his face. "Saillune is still the safest place and, well, it would probably be safer here. If people find out..."  
  
"They might try and kill her," he finished. She nodded, looking away from him.  
  
There was silence between them. The soft melody from inside drifted out on the chilly night air. Amelia gave a small shiver. Her dress didn't provide anything for warmth.  
  
"Here," he sighed, pulling his coat off.  
  
"Thank you, Mr. Zelgadiss," she murmured, taking his coat and pulling it over her shoulders. Again, there was silence between them. Her mind raced with a million things to say. She couldn't just let him go. Lina was her friend. She had taught Amelia so much, though most of it was not intentional. She wanted to help. The girl glanced back at the party going on, then back at Zelgadiss,who was looking back out over the courtyard. "I'm going to," she told him forcefully.  
  
The chimera gave her an odd look. "You're going?" She nodded. "What about your father and your royal duties?"  
  
"Miss Lina is my friend and it would be unjust to not come to her aid when she needed me.If that prophecy is true, then then millions of innocent lives at stake. As a defender of peace and justice, I can't let innocent people suffer and die. Some contracts and treaties can wait."  
  
"What about Phil?"  
  
"If I were to tell him, do you think he would let me go?"  
  
"Probably not, especially not with me."  
  
"Exactly. Daddy will understand later. Besides, the fate of the world may rest in Miss Lina's hands."  
  
"Why is it, when ever anyone says the fate of the world may rest in Lina's hands, I get scared?" Amelia chuckled, causing the chimera to grin. "Alright then, we can leave tonight if..."  
  
"No," she interrupted. "There will be too many guards on watch right now. The best time would be before dawn, tomorrow morning when everyone is asleep and the guards are exhausted. They are less likely to see us," she explained.  
  
Zelgadiss raised an approving eyebrow. "Alright. The sun rises between six thirty and seven, so about four thirty would work."  
  
She nodded, smiling. Already her heart was feeling lighter. Yes, she thought, Daddy will understand later.  
  
There was a sudden sound of glass shattering near by. Amelia jumped, startled. Guards started scrambling from ever post they were at to investigate the noise. The music inside halted. Zelgadiss reached for his sword strapped to his waist; he rarely went anywhere without it. He scanned the direction the guards were moving, trying to see what they were after in the darkness. All he could make out were the guards running and yelling. He heard one word being repeated over and over again: Intruder. The door behind them burst open. Zelgadiss whirled around, whipping out his sword, ready to kill any intruder. He relaxed his stance, lowering his sword, when he realized it was only Phil, looking half frantic.  
  
Phil let out a sigh of relief when he say Amelia. "Oh, Amelia, here you are."  
  
"What's going on?" Zel demanded.  
  
"I don't know," the bear of a man admitted. "None of the guards have come to say what is going on..."  
  
"Take Amelia inside," the chimera ordered. Casting a quick levitation spell, he leaped off the balcony, intent on finding the intruder.  
  
*****  
  
It wasn't long before one of the guards came, reporting to Phil what had happened. "There were what?" Phil barked, not believing he had heard right the first time.  
  
"Two men, sir, in the princess' privet chambers." Phil glared at the man, knowing he wasn't saying everything he knew. Gulping, the man continued, "We heard a loud crash and then some men arguing and when we went in, we found them...found them..."  
  
"Found them what?" the prince demanded.  
  
The guard gulped again. "W-we found them with...without any...clothes, you majesty." The guard grimaced, looking like he had already been hurt by the attack he was expecting.  
  
"And how, exactly did they get in?!"  
  
"W-we don't know sir..."  
  
"And they got away!?!"  
  
"Y-y-yes s-sir," the terrified guard studdered.  
  
Phil almost felt bad for him...almost. The last time someone had broken in and gotten away, his wife had been murdered in an attempt to kill him. If his daughter had been in her room, she might have ended up...No! He refused to think about losing his second daughter! He had already lost one; he wasn't about to lose a second! He refused to! Calming some of his nerves, the prince looked back at the young guard. "They can't be far. Don't let anyone out of the city until they are caught."  
  
"Yes, your majesty!" The guard turned stoutly and marched out, grateful to get away.  
  
Phil looked back at his daughter, who looked more confused then worried. She was probably wondering exactly what he was: why were there two naked men in her room fighting? What could they have possibly been fighting over, and why were they arguing there? Worst of all thoughts that came to hi head, what had they been planning to do to his little girl? He reached out and placed his hands on her shoulders. She gave him a forced smile, trying to reassure him everything was alright, even if it wasn't.  
  
*****  
  
Zelgadiss had done a double take when he had heard one of the guards say the intruders had no clothes. Why, in the name of the Dark Lord, would they break in here without any clothes on? he had wondered. His thoughts had been cut short when he heard some of the guards shouting they had spotted them. He raced over in the direction the guards had been indicating, but didn't see them. Using all of his heightened senses, he tried to find them. His ears picked up a faint sound from near by...foot steps...running...not far to his left.  
  
He took off after the sound, keeping himself out of sight. He didn't want them to know he was here. The feet stopped and so did the chimera. He scanned the area. They were close by, he was sure.  
  
"This is your fault!" a male voice snapped in a hushed whisper. If he hadn't been a chimera, Zel wasn't sure he would have heard it. The voice had been soft, as if from someone young, though strong and hateful. "You an' your stupid insistence on being in the way," the voice mocked.  
  
"If you had just left well alone, we wouldn't be in this mess!" a second voice challenged. This one was a little harsher, older, and deeper. "I told you not to go to her room, but nooo, you never listen to me. I don't know what I'm doing. I'VE never been in someone's room before when I damn well knew I shouldn't have been," he continued in a sarcastic tone. "I've just only broken in to places like this six dozen times...this one, at least five. Oh, no, I have no idea what I'm doing. I have never thought about..."  
  
"Oh shut up," the first grumbled. "No one cares what you think."  
  
"I care what I think," the second retorted.  
  
"Yeah, you're the only one...Hey!" Zelgadiss moved the bush in front of him aside ever so slightly so he could get a good look. Even with his improved eye sight, he still had trouble making out the two men in the darkness. They had chosen an especially dark place to stop and argue. He barely made out their out lines. One, a man who looked as tall as Gourry, if not taller, with hair that ran all the way down his back, had lifted a much shorter man with shoulder length hair off the ground. "Put me down!" the smaller man demanded.  
  
"Or what, you'll use one of yer pathetic little white spells on me?" the bigger one quipped. "Ha! I'm not afraid of you. I could snap your neck like a twig."  
  
"Then why didn't you?"  
  
"Didn't wanna make Kendra cry. Still haven't figured out why she likes you at all."  
  
"Maybe cuz she's a better person then you. Now put me down! We gotta get moving. We stay here too long, our benevolent master," he sarcastically emphasized the word master, "will have our hides."  
  
"He already has our hides, boy. He just hasn't strung Ôum up yet." The smaller man tumbled to the ground as the bigger one dropped him. "Yer familiar with this place, where's the nearest way out?"  
  
The smaller man didn't bother responding, just ran off down one of the dark paths. Zel tailed behind them. They didn't seem to have noticed him. He wanted to know a little more about them before he grabbed them. They turned around one of the tall hedges, disappearing from sight. Cautiously, Zelgadiss went after them. As he came around, he didn't see them anywhere.  
  
"Damn," he quietly swore. "Where did they..." He was cut off as something hard struck the back of his head and he fell in to darkness himself.  
  
*****  
  
Zelgadiss jerked awake as something damp touched his forehead, sitting straight up. "Careful," a familiar voice chided. He glared over at the speaker...the older healer from a a week or so before. He clutched his head, his head feeling like it was being split open. "You don't want to hurt yourself and sitting up so fast will make you dizzy..." She trailed off as she noticed him wobble slightly. The dizziness was right on cue. "You took a bad hit to the head. It might have killed you if you weren't made out of stone. Now, let me see," she ordered. Knowing she probably wouldn't give up until she could examine him, he gave in easily. He had already learned how stubborn some healers could be when they thought they knew best. She reached under his chin with one and closed her eyes, concentrating. A flicker of her power ran from her fingers in to his body, searching out the places in his skull that hurt and alleviating them.  
  
While she was doing this, he spied around where he was. He had been brought inside his room and was sitting on his bed. The curtains had been pulled back and the window had been opened, allowing sunlight and fresh air in. It was early afternoon. All the books and papers had been pick up and neatly stacked on the table. No one else was in the room with them. His heart sank slightly as he realized Amelia wasn't there...Amelia! He jerked away from the mage, startling her.  
  
"Where's Amelia!?" he demanded before the woman could protest.  
  
"The princess is fine. You should be more worried about yourself, right now."  
  
"What about the intruders!?"  
  
"Got away, I'm afraid. They're still searching the city, but with no luck last I heard. They chased them around the gardens most of the night, but nobody's seen a trace of them since morning."  
  
"Damn it!" He pounded his fist against the mattress. The mage raised a disapproving eyebrow. It sort of reminded him of the way his mother used to look at him when he was in trouble.  
  
"Don't hit things, and watch your language," she gently scolded. "You obviously don't want to sit still, so you can stay how you are. I'm done healing you. I'll let the Prince and Princess know you're awake." Gathering up her bowl of water and a few damp rags, some with blood on them, she strode out.  
  
Zel watched her go, scowling. She hadn't seemed the slightest bit worried about the fact that two people...two people without any equipment or clothing...had gotten in to the palace to do who knows what to Amelia when she went back to her room...and one of them had been in and out repeatedly without being caught! "Idiot," he muttered to himself. He leaned against the head board of the bed, knowing the princess, at least, would come and see him. Safe or not, he still preferred to see her with his own eyes.  
  
He didn't wait long before Amelia came in, her father close behind. He looked worried, though Zel couldn't blame him. Amelia bounded over to the side of the bed, her face full of genuine concern.  
  
"Are you alright, Mr. Zelgadiss?" she asked in her typical, gentle voice.  
  
"I'm fine," he grunted. He looked her over out of the corner of his eye so she wouldn't realize he was checking to make sure she was safe. She might take it the wrong way. And kissing her didn't? he mentally scolded himself.  
  
"Did you see them?" Phil demanded, standing by the end of the bed.  
  
"Not really," the chimera commented. "I saw them, but it was too dark to make out any features on them. All I can tell you is one was tall with long hair and the other was about my height with shoulder length hair. They mentioned breaking in other places, though. One even said he'd been in here five times and the other knew the way out of her without being seen, though."  
  
The prince frowned. "I see." His mind began wondering elsewhere, trying to figure out who would attack his precious little girl.  
  
Zelgadiss glanced over at Amelia. Something was missing...Turquoise, he remembered. He wasn't there. "Where's your bird?" he asked dryly.  
  
Amelia looked away. "I don't know," she sighed. "When I went to go see what had happened to him, I found the cage had been ripped open and his feathers were everywhere...there was no sign of him, though."  
  
"Oh..." he trailed off. "He's probably fine. He'll turn up in a day or two." She forced out a smile, but he could tell she was still worried about him. The whole event had probably brought up bad memories for her. Zel noticed the sudden change in Phil's expression from concern to simply anger. The prince stomped out of the room, still deep in thought, and slammed the door, leaving the two alone. They both watched him go, neither quite sure what had brought about his abrupt change. "What was that about?"  
  
"I don't know," she replied. "Something must have made him angry."  
  
"I'd be angry too if two naked men had broken in to my daughter's room to do gods know what to her." She turned back to look at him. "They did sound like they had planned this. I don't know what they wanted, but I doubt it was anything good."  
  
She frowned deeper. "I wouldn't think so. They should catch them, though. I mean, how far could they get without any clothes," she falsely chuckled. She was trying to lighten the mood but it wasn't helping. They were both aware this had probably been an attempt on her life.  
  
"They will come back when everything has settled down again, ya know."  
  
"I know."  
  
There was a long pause between them. Amelia felt the sudden urge to study her fingers. Zel looked at the window. He almost expected the little blue bird to come flying in. It was odd to see the princess without Turquoise; they hadn't been far from each other since she found him over a week ago. Zelgadiss sighed, breaking the silence, "I suppose they will be increasing the guards around the city for a while?" She nodded, not bothering to look at him. "That's going to make leaving a bit more difficult."  
  
"Leaving? I doubt they would try and stop you..."  
  
"Oh, I have no doubts that I'd be able to walk through the gates without any trouble; you however...or did you change your mind?"  
  
"Oh, I completely forgot!" she gasped, remembering their conversation on the balcony. "No, I still want to go. The front gates is not an option anymore. I do know a way that wouldn't have any guards..."  
  
"Where?!" he interrupted eagerly.  
  
"Under the castle, there are some tunnels. The trouble would be simply getting there unnoticed. Once inside, we could slip out nearly a mile away from the city..."  
  
"And why didn't you mention this earlier?" he inquired, slightly annoyed.  
  
Amelia smiled rather sheepishly. "Well, you kinda have to go in through Daddy's room..."  
  
"Wonderful," he sighed. "So we have to get by Phil without being noticed." She nodded. "And there is no other way in?"  
  
"No, there is another, but..." she hesitated.  
  
"But what?"  
  
She looked out the window, trying to find something to concentrate on. Her eyes clouded over. "It's...it's through my mother's room...it was how the man...got in..." she trailed off.  
  
"Oh..." Again, there was silence. Zel mentally kicked himself for bringing it up. He hated causing her to feel pain. He didn't want to go through Phil's room if he didn't have to, but he wasn't sure how Amelia would take it if they went through the room her mother was murdered in. "Think you could put a sleep spell on your father without him noticing?"  
  
She looked back at him, half smiling. "Don't know, I've never tried before. I guess I could. It could be too hard if he was already sleeping."  
  
"Alright. Tonight." 


	6. Escape From Saillune

The clock ticked slowly in his room. It was almost time for her to be there. He sat on his bed, checking his things one last time. He didn't need much, just some food, water, and the book with the translated pages. His sword was hocked around his waist. He was wearing his usual traveling clothes: the same ones he had worn when he was traveling all through out the outer lands. He occasionally glanced out the window at the darkness. He was anxious to get going. He fiddled with the clasp on his cloak as he waited for her.  
  
There was a hesitant knock on Zelgadiss door. He turned rather abruptly. He approached the door and hesitated a moment before undoing the lock, pulling it open a crack. She stood nervously glancing up and down the hall. He opened the door just enough for her to slip in before closing a locking it again. Amelia was wearing her white traveling outfit with both her bracelets on. He could help but smile slightly as he looked at her. He had always liked that outfit better then her dresses, not that he ever voiced his opinion about her clothes. Despite two years of hanging in her closet, the outfit was still in perfect condition and fit her the same.  
  
"White?" he whispered. She nodded. "Isn't that just a bit obvious to see in the dark."  
  
"Mr. Zelgadiss, look outside. All the walls in Saillune are white."  
  
The chimera paused, realizing she was right. "Never mind then. Are you sure you want to go? It's not to late to change you mind."  
  
"I'm sure. Miss Lina's my friend and it would be unjust of me to sit here while a friend was in danger."  
  
He nodded, giving her a half smile. He slung his bag over his shoulder and walked over to the window. When he had first come he had requested not to have a balcony; he was regretting that request now. Unlocking the window, he recited a levitation spell. Careful so he didn't make a sound and alert the guards out in the garden, he hopped through it, falling slightly while the levitation spell took effect. Amelia copied his actions and leaped out, her own levitation spell kicking in, shutting the window behind her. She nodded to him to let him know she was ready. Changing the spells, the each cast a silent ray wing and whirled around the side of the palace. Both kept one eye on the guards, being careful to avoid them. Finally, they came around to the balcony connected to the prince's room. The guards were changing shifts, so no one was there at the moment.  
  
They landed, making only the slightest of sounds as their boots touched the white marble. Amelia went to the door and turned the knob slowly. "Locked," she hissed bitterly. She had known it would be, but was still hoping he might have forgotten to do so tonight. Zel reached under his cloak and pulled out a small cloth envelope. He reached in, pulling out two small wires: lock picks. He easily picked the lock, finding no trouble with them like he had expected. The locks to Amelia's balcony had a spell on them to prevent people from picking them...not that he had or would have ever tried.  
  
The two slipped in soundlessly. Phil was fast asleep with a book flopped over his chest. Amelia watched him for a moment, silently apologizing for what she was about to do. Mouthing the words, she cast an inaudible sleeping spell. The Prince didn't stir, just continued to faintly snore.  
  
"It's done," the girl told her companion.  
  
"Good, now where's the entrance?"  
  
"This way. She lead him in to a private study room of the prince's. There was a tall bookshelf on one wall.  
  
"Let me guess, behind the book shelf," Zelgadiss commented dryly.  
  
"Don't be silly. That's too obvious of a place," she quipped. "The entrance is under the carpet under the desk." She dropped down and crawled under the desk. She reached through the plush carpet and pulled a square of it up. Underneath was a wood trap door. Zel had to admit, it was pretty clever to hide it there and not somewhere in plain view. She lifted the hatch. "It's kind of small inside since this is just a tunnel to the main walkway a few feet off to the side. You'll have to crawl."  
  
Shrugging, Zel crawled under the desk and slid in to the dark tunnel. Amelia hadn't been exaggerating when she said it was small. He was surprised the prince could fit through it. He got down on his hands and knees, his back scraping against the wood ceiling of it. Amelia followed him in, pulling the carpet and door back in place. When the door was shut and they were in complete blackness, he heard the sound of a heavy lock being slid in place. The princess recited a lighting spell to help them see.  
  
"Ready?" he asked, still in a whisper.  
  
"Yeah. It's straight forward." The crawled through the cramped tunnel until they reached a second hatch door in the wall in front of them and another tunnel off to the left. Zelgadiss had never been afraid of small spaces before, but this place was beginning to make even him feel claustrophobic. "It's through the hatch."  
  
"Where does the other tunnel go?"  
  
"The other escape way," she informed him. He nodded and pushed open the door. He dropped down in to a tower like room with a circular walk way going both up and down. The room felt very open compared to where he had just been. The stones were gray instead of white like everything else in the holy city. He started to head down but stopped when he felt a small hand on his shoulder. "That's the wrong way, Mr. Zelgadiss. That will take you to the guard's room. It's up and over, then down."  
  
The shaman swordsman stared at her half in disbelief. "Up then down? Isn't that just a little confusing?"  
  
She shook her head. "Not at all, if you know the way. Besides, it makes it harder to chase someone through here."  
  
"I noticed."  
  
The climb wasn't far and they came to a long hallway full of old, uncleaned windows. The place was covered in dust so thick, they were leaving foot prints. A faded pair of shoe prints were on the floor leading in the opposite direction they were going. If Amelia saw them, she pretended not to. Zelgadiss knew what they were from and decided not to mention them. The hallway smelled old to his senses and the dust they disturbed tickled his nose, threatening to make him sneeze. They came to another door at the end that led to another set of stairs going downwards. Double checking her lighting spell, Amelia led the way downward.  
  
The path down was another set circular stairs against the wall. Once, they passed a small set of holes right about eye level for the average man. When he asked, Amelia said they were for spying on privet meetings of the council. "My great great grandfather didn't trust the council when it was first set up by his father, so he had those put in to make sure they weren't plotting against him. I don't think they've ever been used since."  
  
"Does the council know they are there?" he asked offhandedly.  
  
"No. No one even thought it would be good for them to know. They might get suspicious and try to have the current ruler removed," she explained. He shrugged. It made sense.  
  
The stairs took them down six stories before they finally reached the ending. It came out in an open room, leading to a series of underground tunnels. There were a series of water ways following each man made path. The whole thing looked like part of an underground sewer. The air was a bit foul, but nothing too bad. Carrying the light spell in her hand, Amelia led the way through. The tunnels took many strange turns that seemed to have no pattern whatsoever. Zel felt completely lost, though the princess seemed to know exactly where she was going. He was feeling rather impressed by the great detail put in to the underground passages. It was like a maze and anyone who didn't know the way could spend weeks lost in here. It was a great way to escape if danger came. Typical royalty, he thought, always have several secret passages out of your own castle...  
  
"Here we are," Amelia stated, interrupting his thoughts. She pointed to an earthen tunnel, leading out side. The water trickled down the side of the small hill the entrance was on. He strolled out, glancing back over the hill. Off in the distance he could see the white magic city. Amelia came up next to him and smiled. "Told you they would take us a ways away," she chirped.  
  
Zel smirked. "So they do. We should get going before they realize we're gone."  
  
"Right."  
  
*****  
  
When Phil awoke, it was mid afternoon. He glanced at the quiet clock on the wall. 2:17. He jumped, realizing the time. He had slept half the day away. "Uh, I must have slept like a rock," he commented to himself. "Doesn't feel like I slept at all, though." He slid his legs off the side of the bed and shook his head, trying to clear the drowsiness away. He rubbed the sleep sand out of the corners of his eyes and yawned. He stumbled up to his feet and hurriedly cleaned up and dressed himself. All the while, thinking about Amelia and Zelgadiss.  
  
He had always known his little girl was fascinated with the blue skinned man. Even when she had first introduced him to the chimera, she had seemed fond of him, despite not knowing him very well and him looking like...well...a demon. There was no other way to put it. He was a third demon, after all. He had never thought much of her innocent early crush, knowing she would get over it. And she had. When he had left over two years ago, she had let him go and pretty much forgotten about her little crush. And then you started with trying to get her to marry some prince who doesn't even care about her well being, a voice in his mind nagged. She had argued it was unjust but he had insisted. No wonder she went back to him, the voice persisted. He sighed, glancing in the mirror while he straightened his wild hair.  
  
"If I push her more, she'll simple run further away," he thought out loud. "Then again, if I leave it be..." he trailed off, not sure what would be in all honesty. He wanted her to be happy, he really did, but he also had to think of what was best for the kingdom. He had had an arranged marriage and it had worked out fine...though he never loved quite like he had loved another woman, who had died before he met his wife. He would have married his first love in a heartbeat if he had been allowed. Why should she have to go through the same thing? he questioned. It is ultimately her choice. Why should she not be happy? He does seem to care for her...he wanted to protect her... He sighed again. "If that's what she truly wants..."  
  
He smoothed down his tunic as he walked down the hall towards her room. He was hoping she might be there reading, though he doubted it. He knocked on the door, but received no response. He knocked again, but only silence followed. "Amelia?" he called, opening the door and peeking inside. She wasn't there. He went over and glanced out on her balcony but didn't see her there either. He was just about to leave the room, when he spotted a note on her dresser with the word ÔDaddy' on it. Taking the note, he unfolded it carefully.  
  
Daddy,  
  
Over the past few days, I've been helping Mister Zelgadiss translate one of the strange books he brought her with him. After going through it several times, we found a prophecy that involved Miss Lina. We're not sure exactly yet what is going to happen since not all of it can be translated, but we know it is not good. We left a copy of what we have so far on the table in Mister Zelgadiss' room. Once you read it, I know you will understand why we left in such a hurry without saying good bye. I'm sorry I did not tell you earlier. Please understand why I had to go. Miss Lina is my friend, and it is only just that I do all in my power to help her. I will be back as soon as I can. I promise. And don't worry about me. I will be fine.  
  
Love  
  
Amelia  
  
Phil read over the note several times, just to be sure that his eyes were not playing tricks on him. He crumpled the paper in his hands.  
  
(See, this wasn't a very long chapter. It's only five pages instead of the typical nine or ten. He he. I know most of the chapters are sometimes long and I'm sorry about that. They just don't want to end sometimes. Well, on to write the next chapter. This is where things from my last fic start to overlap. Please review. Pwetty Pwease.) 


	7. On the Road

Xaina lay rather peacefully in the tree, enjoying the sun on her face. Training was off for today. She and Xellos had decided to just relax. Actually, her last little bit of lessons had resulted in her accidental hurting him and he was trying to recover, though he would never have admitted it. She was getting stronger then anyone had expected she would so early on. Power, however, was far from the girl's mind at the moment. Right now, all she was concerned about was the sway of the breeze and warmth of the sun.  
  
Xellos was on a branch higher up in the tree then her, studying. He had "borrowed" a few books on magic in the hopes of learning better ways to train his little charge. There was a slight jingling sound from the bell on the girl's tail ring. He glanced down, smirking. She may have been relaxing now, but tomorrow...oh tomorrow would be very different. He already had a few "battling" lessons he wanted to teach her.  
  
The girl's sensitive feline ears picked up the sound of people coming up the road below them. She perked up her senses, sitting up on the branch. Her teacher had been insisting she learn how to scare and torment people to get a good, negative meal. She never quite understood why, though. Food tasted fine to her. Oh well, she mentally sighed. Now was her chance to test out some of the things she had learned. She floated (one of her newly learned abilities) over behind a few leaves that offered cover from sight and waited for them...  
  
~*~*~  
  
The air was very calm in the little patch of forest. So far they hadn't seen anyone coming up the road. According to Zelgadiss' map, it was a back road, though, so he hadn't really expected to see anyone. Amelia happily trotted beside him. He smiled as he looked at her. Part of him had been nervous about being alone with her for a long stretch of time, but it didn't seem so bad now. It might be rather nice, he thought. It isn't so bad with just the two of us...alone...together...no! Don't think like that! he mentally ordered himself, looking away from the innocent young woman. All the ease and calm he had felt before suddenly drained away. He was going to be entirely alone with her for at least five months as they traveled to 's little shop in the outerlands. He had dreamed of this, who knows how many times for the two years he had been away, and now it had happened. Stupid hormones! he mentally snapped, wishing that part of him had become part demon as well and he would have ever felt that way.  
  
"Mr. Zelgadiss?" Amelia suddenly said, breaking the quiet between them. He glanced over at her, jerked out of thought. "I think we should talk about what happened before...at the palace...when..."  
  
"Yes, we should," he agreed. "Amelia, about that, I...um...think..."  
  
"We should forget about it until we find Miss Lina and we know she is safe," Amelia interrupted, blushing slightly.  
  
"Uh...yes-yes, we should. Right now, this prophecy is more important. We should worry about finding her and getting this figured out..." He cut off as he heard the rustle of some leaves. Amelia heard it to and began glancing around, looking for the source of the noise. Zel gripped a hand on his sword. There was a soft thud behind them. He whirled around, whipping out his sword. He brought it down, stopping just millimeters above a little girl's head. Her violet eyes stared up at the blade that had just nearly gone through her. Her feline ears dropped and her lip quivered as she gave a slight whimper.  
  
There was a blur of black and purple light. The girl was suddenly gone from under the blade. The child burst in to tears, wailing horribly. Zel and Amelia glanced up in on of the trees. On one of the lower branches was a very familiar man: Xellos. He held the small, crying child in his arms. Her white and black fur lined wings were clutched close to her body. Her black feline tail was curled between her legs. The little cat ears were flipped back flat against her head. She was wearing a white, lose fitting body suit with a flared collar. Over that was a white pull over drape that had black lines around the edges and a black line of patterns down the middle. Xellos looked down at them through his squinted eyes and frowned.  
  
He turned his gaze to the little bawling girl. "Oh, there there. Don't cry. I wont let the big bad chimera hurt you," he cooed with a wicked grin. Zelgadiss glared at him. "It's not like he could hurt you anyway. Even with his curse, he couldn't harm you with that little sword." The girl's cries subsided in to little sniffles. "Better?" She nodded.  
  
"And since when did you start adopting children?" Zel demanded suspiciously.  
  
"Adopt?" He looked the girl over carefully. "Well, I suppose you could say I've kind of adopted her." He glanced back down at them, his usual trade mark smile on his face. "Picking on children now, I see? I though you above that. And I would have thought the princess of Saillune would be above such things."  
  
"I do not frighten children!" Amelia protested, putting her hands on her hips.  
  
"She's the princess of Saillune?" the girl choked out.  
  
"Oh yes, that's her. I'd know her anywhere," Xellos responded, saying it as if he were implying something.  
  
The child instantly became defensive. "And what's that suppose to mean? You didn't do anything to her, did you?"  
  
"No, of course not."  
  
"Then why'd you say it like that?"  
  
"I thought I taught you about that?" Xellos hissed in a lower tone, obviously annoyed.  
  
"You did? Are you sure, cuz I don't remember you ever saying anything like that to anyone other then Filia..."  
  
"I'll explain later!" he interrupted the girl.  
  
She shrugged and rolled out of his grasp, floating down to the princess and chimera. Her arms and legs dangled below her. "Are you really Princess Amelia?"  
  
"Uh...yes..." she replied uneasily exchanging a questioning look with Zelgadiss.  
  
The girl glanced over at Zel. Her big, baby eyes stared at the blue skinned man with innocent curiosity. The was a long pause while she studied him. Everyone else watched her closely to see just what her reaction would be. "You're weird lookin'."  
  
Xellos smirked, reveling in the bit of annoyance radiating off of Zel. Zel glared at the floating child. "Have you looked in a mirror lately?"  
  
"Oh, I know I'm weird. I've been weird for almost threeeee weeks." She flexed her little wings out and flapped them slightly. "I woke up with these one morning. It was kinda strange, but I like Ôum." She flipped her self up so she appeared to be sitting on an invisible board and waged her tail, ringing the little bell. "I also got this too. Filia says I should tie a bow on it just like her's but I like my bell better. Xellos gave me the bell. It makes little ringing noises..."  
  
Xellos floated down next to the small child and grabbed her out of the air. The girl cut off abruptly in her ramblings and glanced back at him, curious as to what she had done wrong. "You're not in trouble," he assured her, "You just need to be quiet and let me do the talking."  
  
"Why? You always get everyone mad at you, and that just makes things harder." Her comment received a small chuckle from Amelia and a half smile from Zelgadiss. Xellos, however, seemed flustered by her comment. "What? It's just the truth."  
  
"Be quiet," he ordered in a hushed voice. He turned his attention back to Amelia and Zel, smiling once more, and tucked the girl under one arm. The girl was about to say something, but Xellos slapped a hand over her mouth, much to the child's displeasure. She began squirming, trying to break free from his grasp. "Now then..."  
  
"What do you want?" Zelgadiss demanded, now suspicious again.  
  
"Want? What makes you think I want something?"  
  
"You always want something," the shaman coldly reminded Xellos.  
  
There was a short pause while Xellos debated this. Then his grin grew wider. "Well, then what do you think I want?"  
  
"To annoy us."  
  
The girl broke her mouth free and stared up at the two arguing men...well, sort of men; neither of them exactly counted as human. The blue skinned man glared at the monster and the monster smiled back. She glanced at Amelia, who was frowning.  
  
"Annoy you? Have I ever annoyed you?"  
  
"Yes!"  
  
"You're annoying them now," the girl pointed out. Xellos shot her an evil glare. "Stop getting mad at me for telling the truth! You ARE the one who told me never to lie!" she snapped. He didn't stop glaring with his eyes closed. "Fine! Be that way!" She folded her little arms together and stuck her nose up, closing her eyes. The males went back to their staring. She peeked them open to see Amelia staring at her. "Are you really the princess of Saillune?" The raven haired young woman nodded. "Positive?" Again, Amelia nodded. "Oh...You're a lot different then I imagined."  
  
"Why? How did you imagine me?"  
  
"I donno. Just different. Where were you going, anyway?"  
  
"To speak to Miss Filia..."  
  
"Wow, that's a long way away from here."  
  
"I know," Amelia sighed. "But we have to. It's rather urgent."  
  
The child's ears perked up. "Really, why?"  
  
"Well, we found this prophecy that involves a friend of ours and we need Miss Filia's help to find her."  
  
"Ohhhhh...Prophecies aren't good. I could take you to her..."  
  
"You could?"  
  
The girl nodded and smiled. "Yep. Watch." She wriggled free from Xellos' grasp and floated between the small group of adults. She closed her eyes, concentrating and a white light surrounded her. Xellos' eye shot open as he stared at her. He reached out to grab her just as a bright light flashed. When the light faded, They were standing behind a two storied building under a small fruit tree. Xellos snagged the girl and stared at her bitterly. To say he was a little irritated would have been an understatement. She glanced lazily up at him and smiled. "And you said I couldn't transport anything living without holding on to them."  
  
"Obviously, you and I need to have a LONG talk about how we deal with mortals!" he hissed.  
  
"Why? What'd I do wrong?"  
  
"Everything!" Suddenly they disappeared, leaving the princess and the chimera there.  
  
"What just happened?" Zel inquired.  
  
"I think she took us..." Amelia started to say but was cut off by the sound of someone yelling.  
  
"Miss Amelia!? Mister Zelgadiss!?" The both looked over towards the door to the building. A young blond woman with a baby dragon in her arms stood there, gazing at them in half shock, half joy.  
  
"Miss Filia!" Amelia cried running over to the blond to greet her. Zel scratched his head, just a little more confused then before.  
  
*****  
  
"Her name is Xaina," Filia explained, pouring her new guests some tea in the kitchen. "She's half monster, half human, but she has all the strengths and abilities of a greater monster...or at least she will when she grows up."  
  
"I see," Zel stated. "So why is she with Xellos?"  
  
"He's suppose to be teaching her to be a monster, though she often ends up annoying him." Filia chuckled, remembering the handful of times they had shown up and ending up leaving because she had done something she wasn't suppose to. "The problem is, she's not a typical monster. Positive emotions don't seem to bother her at all like they do with other monsters. Right now, they're stuck with each other. They can't go more then 20 feet away from each other, literally." She poured herself a cup and sat down.  
  
"She's certainly doesn't act like any monster I've seen," Amelia commented.  
  
"Yeah, she's helpful," Zel added. "Shame Xellos has to be everywhere with her. We could get a lot more done with her instead of him."  
  
Filia chuckled. Amelia frowned. "That's not very nice, Mr. Zelgadiss," the princess chided. Zel just sipped his tea. He would have preferred coffee, but tea seemed to work fine for the afternoon. "Xellos has helped us several times..."  
  
"And used us more," Filia interjected.  
  
"Not to mention, he tried to betray us and abandoned us every time we needed his help," Zel supplied.  
  
Knowing she was fighting a losing battle, Amelia decided to change the subject. "So how have you been, Miss Filia?"  
  
"Oh, fine," the golden dragon replied, happy to think of something other then that evil monster. "My shop has been doing alright and Jilas and Grabos help out quite a bit. And little Val is starting to walk and he's already trying to change shape..."  
  
"I thought you said dragons wouldn't start changing shape until they were four or five."  
  
"Normally they don't, but Val like's to do things as quick as possible," Filia bragged. She was very proud of her adopted son.  
  
Zelgadiss sat, rather bored, listening to the two woman chat on about the little boy. He didn't really know anything about children, nor did he care to learn. He sighed and downed the rest of his tea. He reached for his pack on the floor next to him and pulled out the book, though neither of the woman noticed. He slipped out the papers with the translations on and set them on the table. Still, the woman ignored him. He glanced back and forth between them. He cleared his throat. Neither noticed. He coughed. Nothing. He coughed louder. They continued to talk. Seeing they weren't going to listen to him, he changed tactics. He thought about casting a spell, but then realized that might hurt Amelia.  
  
Instead, he pretended to be glancing out the kitchen door to the main store room. "Oh my, I don't think Filia would like it if you dropped that vase Xellos," he mocked scolded. The mention of the trickster priest's name jerked Filia out of her conversation. Her hand went reaching for her mace. She rushed to the doorway and peered in to the room. Jilas and Grabos looked up from their work of smoothing out some of the rough spots on the pottery at her.  
  
"Wha's the matter, boss?" Jilas asked.  
  
Filia grunted. "Nothing." She glared back at Zelgadiss.  
  
"Now that I have your attention," he stated, not bothering to hide any of his annoyance.  
  
"Mr. Zelgadiss, that wasn't very nice," Amelia scolded.  
  
Zel ignored her. He set the paper on the table. "Read it," he told the dragon.  
  
Confused, Filia took the paper and read it. At first, she didn't quite grasp what it said. She read through it again, and then a third time to make sure she had read it right. She stared back at her guests. "Wha...What is this?"  
  
"A prophecy I found in an old book," Zel commented.  
  
"But...but..."  
  
"That's why we came," Amelia sighed seriously. "We have to find Miss Lina. She is involved, though we are not really sure how, yet. We just know that she is."  
  
"But couldn't it be someone else..."  
  
"How many other people do you know that have destroyed dark lords and been a vessel for the Lord of Nightmares?" Zel asked. Filia paled. "You see why we need to find her?" The ex-priestess nodded.  
  
"You wouldn't have happened to have seen her recently, would you?"  
  
"About two weeks ago, yes. She and Mr. Gourry left, saying something about a bandit gang in the south..."  
  
"Then we may still be able to catch up with her," Zel stated, getting up.  
  
"And for the sake of peace and justice, we have to find her..." Amelia cried, jumping up from her seat.  
  
"Then I'm going with you!" Filia cried out.  
  
Zel stared at her. Amelia beamed. "What about Val?" the chimera inquired.  
  
"Jilas and Grabos can watch him for a few days. Right now, this prophecy is important and I might be able to help you find them faster. I do know the way they were going after all."  
  
"Alright, then let's go!" Amelia cheered. Zel sighed, wondering just how he got stuck with these two again and silently thankful Xellos wasn't there.  
  
*****  
  
"They got married and didn't invite us!" Amelia half cried.  
  
Filia nodded. "They said they eloped."  
  
"Well, that does sound like them. Still, it's unjust not to invite their friends to their wedding."  
  
Zelgadiss sighed, checking his map. He was beginning to wish it was just Amelia and him again. According to Filia, they had gone south, but the road went off in three different directions ahead. One went to a town and the other two lead off the map of the area.  
  
"So which way, Filia?" he asked, interrupting the girl's conversation.  
  
"They probably went to Lathel. It's the next town if you follow the road on the right. They were the one's supposedly having the bandit problem."  
  
He nodded and put his map away. The walked on towards Lathel. They hadn't gone very far when Zel picked up the scent of ash and soot. He stopped, trying to figure out which direction it was coming from.  
  
"What is it, Mr. Zelgadiss?" Amelia inquired.  
  
"Something was burned near here..."  
  
"AHHHHHHH!!!!" several voices all screeched at once. "RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! IT'S THE BANDIT KILLER!"  
  
"I think we found her," Zelgadiss sighed. Several barbarians came running down the road. The skidded past the three travelers, all continuing to screech like little girls. " This is almost too easy."  
  
They ran the rest of the way up the road until they came to a rather charred spot. It still sizzled a little from the heat. Black soot was everywhere. Lina and Gourry, however, were nowhere to be found.  
  
"They must have just left," Amelia stated, glancing around at all the destruction.  
  
"We should be able to catch her in town. If we hurry, we can be there before dark.  
  
*****  
  
Lathel was a busy town, even at night. People were bustling around, enjoying the cool evening air. The inn was full of friendly people, though there were no loud noises of a certain sorceress and swordsman fighting over food. The girl had stayed downstairs to eat and chat, but Zel had gone straight up to his room. He had never liked crowds, especially when he felt like everyone was staring at him.  
  
He pulled the old book out from his pack along with a second book he used for translating. The prophecy had been in the front of the book, and he hadn't translated anything after that. Zelgadiss was hoping translating more would give them a better idea as to what was going to happen. He didn't want to be caught by surprise by it.  
  
There were obviously others involved. What was still readable mentioned something about a white monster, a black dragon, and a demon. Then there was something about a shadow with power and birds. What did birds have to do with this? He suddenly remembered the blue and black birds back in Saillune. Are they somehow connected? he wondered. He flipped to pages just after the prophecy and opened the translation book. Just like the pages of the prophecy, the rest of the book was washed out and hard to read. Why does everything have to be so damned hard!? he mentally snapped as he tried to make out some of the words.  
  
He was drawn out of his anger at the book by the sound of laughing. One sounded like Amelia. He glanced over at his window, realizing it was open. The chimera sighed and got up to close it. As he pushed it shut, he glanced out side. When he had been given his room, the owner had said it was the best room of the place and winked. Zel had no idea what he had meant at the time. Suddenly, it was all clear. From his window, he could easily see in to both sides of the public, open air baths. A huge blush spread across his cheeks when he saw Filia and Amelia splashing each other in the water. Zel quickly pulled the curtains over the window, hiding it from view. He rushed back over to the book and tried to continue translating... ... ...No, wasn't working. His mind was too distracted. "Maybe a bath wouldn't be such a bad thing," he commented, still blushing. Anything to get me out of this room, he mentally added. Grabbing a towel, he headed down to the baths.  
  
Once he was there, he peered inside, hoping he would be alone. He got his wish; no one was there at the moment. He stripped down and settled in the water. He could faintly hear the woman in the bath next door talking, though he couldn't make out the words. Part of him was grateful for that. He didn't really want to know what they were saying. The water actually felt nice and relaxing. He sighed, closing his eyes, and decided to just hang out in here for a while. So long as he wasn't bothered...  
  
"Zelgadiss?" a familiar voice asked uncertainly. The chimera jerked up, staring at the person who had just come in wrapped in nothing but a towel.  
  
"Gourry!" he stated in a shocked tone. 


	8. Destiny

"Hey Zel!" the blond swordsman said with a goofy smile as he climbed in to the water. "I didn't know you were here."  
  
"Gourry! How...what...oh, never mind that, where's Lina?! I need to speak with her!"  
  
"Um, in our room still, I think..."  
  
"Actually, she was heading down to take a bath too," Xaina piped in. Both men reached down to cover themselves as the both turned towards to girl. The little monster was sitting on a small ledge so the water just covered her shoulders. She smiled, her eyes closed (looking a little too much like Xellos in Zelgadiss' opinion). She peeked one eye open curiously. "What's wrong? Why are you both blushing?"  
  
"Xaina! You're not suppose to be in here!" Zelgadiss snapped.  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Because this is the boy's side," Gourry said.  
  
"The boy's side? There are sides!?!"  
  
"Yes. This is the boy's side. Only boys are suppose to be here. Girl's are on the other side," Gourry explained. "Girls aren't allowed on the boy's side and boys aren't allowed on the girl's side.  
  
"Oh, I didn't know there were sides." She glanced over at the wall, frowning with both her violet eyes open. "Maybe I should mention that to Xellos..."  
  
The girl was interrupted by a series of loud screeches from the other side. The monster priest suddenly appeared in the water right next to Xaina, smiling as usual. "You're right, Xaina. Filia really does carry that mace absolutely everywhere with her."  
  
Xaina sighed. "I suppose now I have to go over there and apologize for you. Oh well, it's not like I can stay here."  
  
"Oh, why's that?"  
  
"Apparently this is the boy's side, and I'm not allowed. So, I'll see you after my soak." The girl disappeared, teleporting to the other side. Xellos looked over at the blushing men. He leaned back, getting more comfortable.  
  
"What do you want!?" Zelgadiss snapped.  
  
"Now now, Zelly, you should know that's a secret."  
  
The chimera growled. Gourry looked a little confused, but shrugged it off. He was use to being confused. "So, um, how's Xaina?" the blond asked.  
  
"Quite fine. Didn't she seem fine a moment ago?"  
  
"Uh...yeah, I think so...Oh, hey Zel, why'd you want to speak with Lina?"  
  
Zelgadiss glared at the monster. He didn't particularly want Xellos to hear anything about the prophecy, though he suspected the monster already knew. "I found something that might interest her," he stated coldly.  
  
"Really? What is? A treasure map?  
  
"No."  
  
"Some magical item?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Another bandit gang?"  
  
"No," he replied, getting annoyed with the blond's guessing game.  
  
"A hidden temple full of gold?"  
  
"No!"  
  
"A prophecy, am I right?" Xellos inquired. Zel shot him an evil glare.  
  
"A prophecy?"  
  
"Yes, I'll explain later..."  
  
~*~*~  
  
"A prophecy?" Lina asked, looking back and forth between Amelia and Filia. She had never been expecting to see either of them here, let alone hear about some sort of prophecy. Her friends nodded. Xaina sat on the edge of the poll, dangling her feet in the water, watching with amusement. "What kind of prophecy?"  
  
"A bad one," Xaina replied. The woman all glanced over at her.  
  
"How do you know?" Amelia questioned, a little suspicious of the girl. She was a monster after all.  
  
"I can't tell you that. Xellos says if I do, he'll lock me up in a pit with the Master's wolves."  
  
"That's horrible!" Filia cried. She reached over and scooped the child up in her arms. "That evil namagomi! How dare he do such a thing to an innocent child!" She glared at the wall as if she could see through it and know exactly where her enemy was.  
  
"Uh...yeah...anyway," Lina sighed, looking over at the princess. "So, what is this prophecy about?"  
  
Amelia blushed. "Well, we're not exactly sure, but it mentioned you in it so Mr. Zelgadiss and I came to find you..."  
  
"So Zel's here too?"  
  
"Yep! He's next door!" Xaina chirped, floating out of Filia's grasp. She dropped in to the water and purred with delight.  
  
"Mr. Zelgadiss has a copy of it in his pack," Amelia supplied.  
  
The red head sighed. "Fine. I'll read it later. I just wanna clean up right now."  
  
*****  
  
Lina read through the translations again. "There really isn't much here, is there?" Gourry was looking over her shoulder, though she doubted he was reading it.  
  
Zelgadiss showed her the book. "I found it like this, I'm afraid," he commented.  
  
"Wow, that's pretty bad. I surprised you got even this from it."  
  
"You should see some of the pages in the back," Amelia said. "They're worse."  
  
"So...what's all this mean?" Gourry asked.  
  
"That something really bad is going to happen," Filia replied.  
  
They were gathered around in Zelgadiss' room looking over the prophecy. Lina looked grimly at the paper. The last prophecy they had been a part of had nearly destroyed the world. Of course, they had all of that one. They only had pieces of this one. She glanced over at the book. They were missing huge chunks of it.  
  
"I'm working on translating the rest of the book. It there is anything else about it in here, I want to know it."  
  
"You want to know it?! What, you think I don't?!" Lina barked.  
  
"No, that's not..."  
  
"Good! If I'm involved in this, I want to know exactly what I'm up against!"  
  
"Um...ok," he nervously replied. There was a long silence in the room.  
  
Xellos, all the while, had been standing by the window, admiring the view. "What a nice view you have, Zelgadiss," the monster commented. Zel's face turned beet red. "You can see all the way to the bathing pools from here."  
  
"I did not choose this room!" he cried in an attempt to confirm his innocence while the blush spread down the chimera's body.  
  
*****  
  
It was a change of pace to be with Lina and Gourry again. Amelia had almost forgotten how much they ate and how fast. It had been two years since she had last had to fight for a meal. She was finding it difficult to get anything at all. Zelgadiss was casually sipping his coffee with his hood up while Filia sipped some tea. Across the table from the golden dragon were the two monsters. Xaina was nursing a glass of orange juice she didn't dare put on the table, for fear it might be stolen. She had a hooded cape pulled over her head to hide her less then human features. She was held on Xellos' lap. The trickster priest was watching the morning fight over food with great interest, getting a light meal from the small bits of negative emotions.  
  
After the usual slaughter of the breakfast dishes and the emptying of the inn's food stocks, the princess, sorceress, and swordsman sat back in contented heaps. Waiters scrambled about the table to clean up the carnage. Lina let out a satisfying sigh and rubbed her full belly. There was peace, for now. It was at this moment that Xaina dared to set her cup down.  
  
"So where are we going now?" the child inquired.  
  
There was a long pause while everyone glanced at Lina. The red head smiled. "Saillune." Her red eyes glanced over at Amelia. "You did say that's where we should go until we really know what this whole thing is about, right?"  
  
"Oh, well, yes..." the princess trailed off.  
  
"Yeah, but Lina," Gourry interjected, "I thought you wanted to go after another bandit gang...?"  
  
"There are plenty of bandits on the roads. We'll take some of them out," Lina reassured him. "Besides, it'll be nice to stop by and say hi to Phil again."  
  
Amelia and Zelgadiss exchanged a nervous glance that didn't go unnoticed by the monster priest. His smile brightened a little more, but he made no comments. Their nervousness was enough to appease him for the moment. He'd get a much bigger meal from Filia later.  
  
"We really get to go to Saillune?" Xaina asked excitedly. She couldn't help but jingle the bell on her tail as it slid out from under the long cape. Xellos quickly snagged the lose appendage and stuffed it back out of sight.  
  
"Yep!" Lina replied brightly. "And I'll even introduce you to the prince."  
  
"Really?!"  
  
Lina nodded and giggled. "Of course. Would I lie to you?"  
  
"Haven't yet."  
  
"Speaking of going," Zel stated coldly, "shouldn't we be leaving?"  
  
"Oh, right," the sorceress sighed. "Waiter! Check please!"  
  
*****  
  
Feels just like old times, Lina thought as they walked down the road. Well, except for Xaina. She glanced back at the child Filia had cradled in her arms. She and Xellos were glaring at each other. They had run out of insults after two hours of yelling. No one was really sure what they were fighting over, just that Xaina and a pit of wolves had something to do with it. Once the argument had quieted down, Amelia had started lecturing Lina about how it was unjust not to invite one's friends to their wedding. The sorceress had long since tuned the little justice freak out. She was concentrating on the road, remembering old times.  
  
"Boy, the birds here sure are weird," Gourry commented suddenly, out of the blue. Everyone stopped to glance up at the creature he had mentioned. Perched up in a tree was a small, bluish raven.  
  
"Terquious!" Amelia cried after seeing the bird.  
  
"Terquious?" everyone except Zelgadiss chimed in.  
  
"A bird Amelia found in Saillune," the chimera explained. Amelia was busy trying to coax the bird down. "He's her pet."  
  
"All the way from Saillune? He's pretty far from home then," Lina said.  
  
Xaina watched the bird closely. "Hey! He looks like one of those birds the creepy person had on Wolfpack island!" she yelped. Xellos raised a curious eyebrow and muttered something no one could hear. The child leaped out of Filia's hands and floated up to the bird. He looked her up and down as if sizing her up. "What'd you say his name was? Terquious?" Amelia nodded.  
  
"His name is Prince." A shiver ran down everyone's spine. The air seemed to drop in temperature. That voice. It had been as cold as ice. The sound of it was enough to freeze over hell. The bird fluttered off the branch and glided down to land on the hand of a woman only a few feet ahead of them. Lina was sure she hadn't been there before. Everything about this woman was cold and dark. Her long hair and eyes were as black as a starless sky. Her simple robe and cape were as dark as charcoal. The only thing standing out on it was a golden belt buckle. Her skin was ghostly white. In one hand she held a staff with a jewel that seemed to take in all the light and let none of it out. Perched on the end of the staff was a pure white raven. On her right shoulder was a black raven. A golden raven rested on her left shoulder. Xaina dashed down behind Xellos, hiding under his cape. Her tail had puffed up twice its normal size. "He belongs to me," she spoke in her emotionless voice. A blank expression was held on her face. Gourry reached for his sword. "There is no need for that," she tried to assure him. "I mean you no ill will."  
  
"Then what do you want?" Lina demanded.  
  
"To assist you, Lady Inverse." Lina glared. Something about this woman screamed of danger. "I know of the prophecy. I have been sent to watch over you."  
  
"By how?" This time it was Zelgadiss who did the demanding.  
  
"That is information I am not at liberty to share at the moment. Just know that I have no will or wish to harm any of you. I have been ordered to protect her."  
  
"Who are you?" Filia inquired. Her tail had sprung out and was stiff.  
  
"My name is Destiny," she replied calmly. Simultaneously, the birds all fluttered off in to the air. She brought her staff across her body and bowed deeply. Her vacant black eyes never left the group. The birds gathered on the ground behind her. The black one pecked at the blue one once, causing Prince, as he had now be indetified, to back away and cringe behind the white bird.  
  
Lina hesitated. She didn't want this woman anywhere near her, though she couldn't place the source of her distrust. She had a feeling that even if they tried to ditch Destiny, the black woman would simply follow them. In her gut, she could feel a power a strong power radiating from this creepy woman. She decided to try a different tactic. "What do you know about this prophecy?"  
  
"More then you."  
  
"And that would be?"  
  
"Again, I am not at liberty to discuss it with you. All you need to know is that you are involved and those who know will hunt you down. I am here to make sure they do not succeed in retrieving or killing you."  
  
Lina was about to ask something else, but Amelia broke in, "Why did you send those birds to the palace?"  
  
"An' appear in my master's garden?" Xellos stated. Xaina was still quivering. She was almost as white as her clothes. Xellos was no longer smiling. He must feel it too, Lina reasoned.  
  
"I am not at liberty to give you such information," she replied in her sterile tone. There was a long pause of silence. Not ever the birds in the woods dared to sing. The birds flew back on to their master's shoulders, hand, and staff. "Were you not heading down the road?" There was no response. "Should we not continue?"  
  
Straightening up, Lina swallowed her anxiety. She would worry about this woman later. She had places to go and people to see. There was no way in hell one little woman was going to stop her. 


	9. Blurp Blurp

(Well, this use to be part of another story, but since no one is reading it, I'm attaching it on to the end of my last one (which people did read). Please review when you're done reading. Reviews help make the writing process go faster.)  
  
Xaina's bell rang as she skipped down to the stream. Lina had sent her to get a little water for drinking. They were right on the other side of the bushes, sitting around the fire and eying the new woman. The white bird had followed her and sat patiently beside the winged child. Destiny had joined them only that afternoon, and no one trusted her. The girl couldn't blame them; she didn't like Destiny either. The woman had something dark around her. It wasn't quite evil, but something about it didn't feel right. It was like she didn't have a soul or something.  
  
"Creepy lady," she mumbled to herself, dunking the bucket in to the water. ~Blurp~ Xaina's feline ears perked up. What was that noise? She was sure she had heard something. After several moments of nothing, she shrugged and pulled the heavy bucket out. ~Blurp~ There it was again! She set down her bucket and glared at the darkness around her. Now, where is it, she wondered. ~Blurp blurp~ Twice! It was mocking her, she was sure! How dare it mock her! She was the apprentice of the great Xellos! No one it their right mind mocked her! ~Blurp~ Try as she may, she couldn't see anything. Her tail puffed up. The bird rustled its feathers, not liking this either.  
  
"You hear it too, don't you?" she asked the bird. It didn't respond. Its black eyes watched the water. ~Blurp blurp~ "This had better not be a joke," she growled low.  
  
"Who are you talking to?" Xaina's heart nearly leapt out her throat. She spun around to see Filia standing there watching her.  
  
"Don't do that!" she snapped. "Between you and Xellos, I'm gonna die of fright!"  
  
"I didn't mean to startle you," the ex-priestess stated. "I was just wondering where you were. You were taking a long time to just get some water."  
  
"I heard something," the girl replied, brushing some of her raven hair back behind her ears. She glanced back, her tail waving nervously, though the bell made no sound.  
  
"A noise?" She reached down and scooped the child up in her arms, blue eyes trying to penetrate the darkness. "What kind of noise."  
  
"A blerp kinda noise. It was weird, an' I think it was making fun of me!" Filia glared at the night. She grabbed the bucket with her free hand and slowly started backing away from the stream. "We should get back to the others." Xaina nodded in agreement. The white bird followed them. ~Blurp blurp blurp~  
  
~*~*~  
  
Lina kept one eye on Destiny and her birds. The strange pale woman was pouring some birdseed in a bowl, setting it on the ground. The second her hand let go of the bowl, three birds pounced on it. The Prince pecked at the gold bird, trying to drive it away from the food. This seemed to anger the black bird who attack the blue one. Prince cawed and flapped at the black one, who did the same back. While the two fought, the gold one took advantage of the situation and gobbled up some of the seed in peace. It was soon joined by the white bird as Filia came back carrying Xaina and the bucket full of water. Needless to say, the birds' eating habits looked a bit Lina and Gourry's.  
  
After a few minutes of watching the birds fight and devour the food, the group went back to their normal evening activities. Lina, Amelia, and Filia were busy making food while Gourry and Zelgadiss kept the fire going and watched for night time invaders. Xellos sat in a tree watching with Xaina resting against his chest. The girl was beginning to nod of to sleep and he kept having to poke her awake. The monster was still trying to teach her she didn't really require sleep anymore, if she'd just learn to feed on negative emotions.  
  
Destiny was doing something odd, however. No one was quite sure what she was doing. She had gotten up and started walking around the camp, dragging her staff behind her. After she had made a complete circle around the camp, she went around it again, carefully sprinkling a white powder in the grove her staff had made in the dirt. No one said anything to interrupt her. She stepped in to the middle of the circle and uttered a few words. A soft, blue light spilled out from her staff and flowed out to the edges of the circle she had made. It climbed up and made a faint blue bubble around them before disappearing from sight. Then, she took her former place and sat crossed legged with her eyes closed, the staff across her lap.  
  
"What was that?" Lina inquired but received no response. Curious, Xellos, who had been outside of the bubble, floated down and touched where the top would have been. A faint light surrounded his hand but nothing else happened. Completely baffled, he dropped down inside and scratched his head. Filia reached out and poked where the walls had been as well. A faint light surround her hand. She twiddled her fingers, the light covering every movement. Zelgadiss tried it as well, but nothing happened for him. "So, uh...anyone got any ideas what it is?"  
  
"A priest spell," the dragon supplied. "It must react to anyone who has priestly magic."  
  
"It's a protection spell," the rigid woman spoke. Everyone glanced over at her. "It keeps out any who wish harm to come to any of the people or land inside. It is a spell that can only be used by high level priests. It will keep danger out."  
  
Lina sighed and shrugged. "It works, I guess."  
  
"No need for us to keep watch then," Gourry smiled. He was looking forward to a good nights sleep.  
  
Xaina moaned as Xellos poked her again. Filia glared at him and snatched the child from his grasp. "Let her sleep," the dragon scolded.  
  
Xellos grabbed her back. "She's not suppose to sleep," he retorted.  
  
"She's a little girl and she's tired! She needs sleep!" Filia snapped, snagging the child once more.  
  
Xellos puffed slightly before seizing the girl again. "And what would a silly little golden dragon know about what a monster needs?"  
  
Filia took Xaina again. (Surprisingly, the little monster hadn't been hurt by all of this harsh grabbing.) "She is half human and obviously favors that side. She is sweet and innocent and she needs sleep!" she hissed.  
  
"She is my student, and I think I know what's best for her," he replied in a forced calm voice.  
  
Xaina moaned again and snapped her fingers, teleporting. She reappeared lying in Lina's arms. She snuggled against the red head, trying to get some sleep. Lina smiled and cuddled the child. Xellos and Filiastared in shock and disappointment. Lina glared at them, daring each of them to just try and take the girl. Feeling safe at last, the girl yawned and settled in to sleep.  
  
As the night progressed, Lina set Xaina down among some blankets near the fire for warmth. She smiled as she tucked the child in to sleep, feeling tired herself, even though they hadn't even eaten. When dinner finally was ready, everyone, except Xellos and Destiny, were too tired to even fight over their meal. No one had the heart to wake the child for food. She would be hungry later, but for the moment all she needed was sleep. They turned in earlier then usual, Filia agreeing to share her bed roll with the girl for the night. When everyone had slipped off in to sleep, only Destiny and Xellos remained. The cold woman seemed to be meditating.  
  
"Don't require sleep either, I see," the purple haired monster commented. Destiny didn't respond. "I know you're not human." Still, she made no response. He couldn't read any emotions off of her so he wasn't ever sure she was awake, let alone listening. "Humans give off emotions, even when they sleep. Your birds have more emotions coming off of them then you do." He gestured to the four birds who had made themselves comfortable among the group of sleeping people. Prince slept by Amelia on the other side of the fire from the black bird sleeping on top of Lina and Gourry. The white and gold birds where huddled near Xaina and Filia. "Why, even monsters have emotions coming off of them."  
  
"Is there a point to your ramblings?" Destiny demanded. Her body didn't move as she spoke. She remained as still as a stone.  
  
"What are you?"  
  
"That is information I am not at liberty to give you."  
  
"Yes, you've said that before. There certainly is a lot of things you can't tell us. Why?"  
  
"That's a secret," she mocked. Xellos frowned. "I am no more at liberty to tell you my purpose then you are to give me yours. It is the order of things. All shall reveal itself in time, no doubt."  
  
'Time is the one thing we don't have,' Xellos thought. 'But you already know that, don't you?' He looked her up and down. Her power was strong, perhaps even grater then his. He knew better then to challenge her to a fight...for now. "Very well. Keep your secrets. But don't forget I'm watching you..."  
  
"I would expect no less from you, Xellos." An almost vicious smile curved up on her lips. It sent a shiver down his spine. He could read nothing off of her. The white bird flustered its feathers slightly, a feeling a slight fear radiating off of it, before fading off to passive indifference.  
  
*****  
  
A hungry, growling tummy was what pulled the little winged neko monster out of her sleep. She squirmed out of Filia's grasp and crawled out around the camp. The two birds who had been sleeping right by her yawned and stretched their wings. She reached down (which was not far for one as small as her) and gave both birds a soft pat. Destiny was sitting near by with her legs crossed and her hands on her knees. The staff was laid across her lap. Curiosity, being stronger then her fear, pulled her forward and she reached out to grab the plain yet hauntingly beautiful staff...  
  
"I would hate to have to harm you, Miss Xaina," Destiny spoke in her frozen tone, "But if you touch that staff, I will be forced to." Xaina jumped back, hands quivering. "Go get water."  
  
Deciding it was best to obey, she grabbed the bucket. She backed out of the small clearing, not once turning her back on the black robed woman. When she was out of sight, Xaina dashed over to the water. The white and gold birds followed her. She reached the water and stopped when she saw something bubbling up in the middle of it. ~Blurp blurp blurp~ Realization dawned on her as she watched the bubbles and listened to the sound they made as they popped on the surface. OIt must have been the bubbles,' she mentally reasoned. Setting the bucket down, she floated out over the water to were the bubbles were coming up from. The early morning light didn't let her see anything in the water. Something dark and brown started floating up to the surface of the water and she leaned in closer for a better look. It surfaced without much sound. The little girl reached down and poked the small brown thing that was attached to something else much bigger still submerged in the water. It was squishy and slimy. It moved! The brown thing moved back to reveal two large black eyes. They stared up at her. She stared back with great interest. It was a being of some sort. She could even feel emotions coming off of it, though she still couldn't tell the difference of one emotion form another. Suddenly, it leaped out of the water. Xaina squealed and dashed back to the banks. The creature landed on a rock in the stream and stared at her, smiling. He had two bulging eyes that sat on the top of his head and a large mouth. He sat back on it's four legs. His two front legs were short while his back ones were long, muscled, and webbed, made for swimming. His brown splotched skin was wet and oozed with slime. Xaina blinked as she watched it.  
  
(Ten points to anyone who can guess what it is!) 


	10. Mr. Frogy!

Xaina stared at the dog sized creature before her. Her brow knit together. "Are you some kind of giant frog?" she asked him.  
  
He face faulted, making a gagging noise. Quickly recovering, he sat back up and smiled. "Not at all. I am a monster, thank you."  
  
"But you look like a frog."  
  
"I am not a frog! I am a powerful monster working for Lord Deep Sea Dolphin! I have killed over two hundred humans, dragons, and other monsters."  
  
"You still look like a frog," she persisted. "Besides, killing is wrong."  
  
The frog monster gave her an odd look. "And what kind of monster are you?" he demanded haughtily. "Who's your master!?!"  
  
"Um, Xellos, but he works for Lord Beastmaster and I don't know what kind of monster I am. Nobody does. Everyone insists I'll find out exactly what I am when my powers are fully grown and and I develop some sort of type or something like that."  
  
The frog monsters eyes narrowed. "Oh, you must be Xaina then."  
  
Xaina smiled. "Yep. That's me."  
  
"I see...Xellos must be here as well, then..."  
  
"He can't go more then 20 feet from me. I'm pretty sure he's here. If he's not then somebody's been lying to us."  
  
The giant frog frowned. "Hmmm...that makes things more difficult," he mumbled to himself, though Xaina's sensitive ears picked it up easily. "Very well then, Miss Xaina," he stated coldly, looking at the girl, "I take my leave of you." He gave a graceful bow and then flipped backwards in to the water, disappearing form sight.  
  
"Take his leave? I didn't even realize I had his leave..." the girl trailed off. Shrugging the encounter off, she dipped the bucket in to the water and carried it as best she could back to the camp. The birds glided after her. As she walked back in to the camp, she saw Xellos sitting up in a tree. He watched her with one closed eye, while the other kept a watch over the camp. Everyone was starting to stir and wake up slowly. Gourry and Lina were still snuggled up close together. Amelia was fighting the morning light so she could get just a few more minutes. Zelgadiss was already awake and making some coffee. Filia was forcing herself to get up. Destiny had pulled the bag of bird seed out of her pack and poured it in the little bowl. Just like the night before, the birds waited patiently until she set the bowl down; then they dived on it. The black bird picked on the blue bird until the white bird broke it up and the gold bird ignore the whole thing. Xaina watched them with great interest.  
  
"What are their names?" she asked Destiny when the birds had stopped bickering amongst each other.  
  
"Prince, Dragon, Monster, and Outcast," the woman replied in her icy voice.  
  
"Which is which?"  
  
"The blue one is Prince, the black is Dragon, the white is Monster, and the gold is Outcast. Prince and Dragon are both male and Monster and Outcast are both female."  
  
"Oh..." Xaina reached out a hand to pet Dragon. He jerked back out of her reach and cawed furiously. Monster proceeded to dive on him and shut him up. "What's his problem?"  
  
"He lives up to his name," Xellos commented from his spot in the tree.  
  
"He's stupid and easily beaten by a monster."  
  
"Namagomi!" Filia spat as she brushed her long blond hair. He smirked, ignoring her comment.  
  
The child reached out again to try and pet the bird. He wouldn't let her near him. He flew up in to a tree and turned his back to her. "What a brat," she commented. Sighing, she floated up in the tree to sit with Xellos.  
  
Lina sat up groggily. She yawned, not the least bit happy about having to get up. She didn't look like she had slept well at all last night. The birds broke out in another fight, this time between the Turquoise and Dragon. The red head glared at them dangerously. The two stopped abruptly and scuttled out of her sight sheepishly. Normally, Lina was a morning person, happy to get up with the sun. Today, however, she was not. It just didn't look like a good day to her.  
  
Understanding perfectly about not wanting to get up and face another day, Zelgadiss offered her some coffee. "Thanks," she muttered.  
  
Xaina floated down and looked at the red head in the eye. "Do you feel bad, Lina?" Lina nodded. She looked down at the coffee and nearly gagged. "Tummy upset?" Lina nodded. "Think some water would help?" the child asked with a big grin. She wanted to go see the frogy again. The sorceress shook her head. "Are you sure? Water always helped me when I didn't feel good. I'll go get you some. Just wait right here."  
  
"But we already have water," Filia said as the child disappeared through the bushes.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Xaina floated back to the water. It had to still be here. She floated over the stream and peered in to the dark blue water. She didn't see him. "Frogy man? Ya still here?" she asked the water. She waited... nothing happened. She pulled off one of her purple gloves and dipped it in the stream. The cool water flowed between her fingers. "Come on, you can't have gone far. I was just here less then an hour ago."  
  
"And what exactly do you want?" an arrogant voice demanded. Xaina twirled around and saw the giant frog monster sitting on the shore. "Oh, Mr. Frogy, there you are."  
  
The monster glared at her. "I am NOT Mr. Frogy."  
  
"Oh, well then, what should I call you?" she inquired innocently.  
  
"That is of no importance to you!" he huffed back.  
  
"But I wanna know."  
  
"No."  
  
"But..."  
  
"No!" he snapped.  
  
"Fine. Don't tell me. I just keep calling you Mr. Frogy," she retorted as she folded her arms together and turned up her nose.  
  
The frog monster growled, clenching his fists to his sides. "I AM NOT MR. FROGY!!!"  
  
"Well, if you wont tell me your name, that's what I'm gonna call you."  
  
"I don't have to sit here and take this from a snot nosed little brat!" He leaped gracefully in to the air and landed all the way on the other side of the stream.  
  
"Wow. Hey, do that again." The frog ignored her and continued hopping away. "Hey! Wait, Mr. Frogy!" she cried. She floated after him as fast as she could go. She had gone only a few feet when she was suddenly jerked to a halt...  
  
*****  
  
While everyone was getting up on this sickenly beautiful morning, Xellos sat patiently on a tree branch. He was waiting for everyone to be a little more awake before he got his next meal. The food was better when they were awake. That is, he was sitting there patiently in a tree until he was violently jerked off the branch. He grabbed on to the next branch he could reach and clung to it for dear life. Everyone below stared at him.  
  
"What the hell?" Zelgadiss stated half in shock.  
  
"What are you doing, Xellos?" Lina demanded.  
  
The force that had pulled him relaxed and Xellos loosened his grip. He was jerked again and nearly lost hold of his branch. When it relaxed again, he jerked himself forward, pulling back against the unseen force...  
  
*****  
  
Xaina felt her body yanked back. The frog was getting further and further away. She had to catch him. She just had to. She yanked again. It resisted her going. She stopped pulling and floated a few feet backward. She summoned up all her power and darted forward as fast and hard as she could. The force pulling her back resisted for a moment, then broke free and she went after the giant frog...  
  
*****  
  
He held on to the branch, refusing to go with what ever was pulling it. Cracks started appearing in the wood. Xellos gulped. The branch snapped off and he went flying through the trees, being dragged by an unknown force. He was yanked towards the stream and a loud splash was heard by the rest of the group.  
  
"Where's he going?" Amelia inquired.  
  
"Good question," Lina agreed.  
  
"Remember when Xaina said they couldn't go more then twenty feet away from each other," Filia broke in. The others nodded. "Do you think that could be what happens when they try?"  
  
"The child is stronger then he is," Destiny stated coldly. She was the only one who had not been disturbed by the whole scene. "It takes a little work, but she can out match him in such tests of will. They will return soon enough."  
  
Everyone was quiet for a moment. Gourry broke the stunned silence. "Hey, can we eat now?" 


	11. The Frog Monster Attacks!

After his rather cold and unpleasant bath, Xellos released the branch and transported a little ways ahead of where he was being yanked. Just as he reappeared, he was rammed in to by one desperate little monster. The sudden stop caught her attention and she glanced up hesitantly. Xellos glared at her with his open eyes.  
  
Xaina smiled rather sheepishly at her soaked teacher. "Uh, hi Xellos. Did ya decided to take a quick swim?"  
  
"No," he stated evenly. "I was yanked in by some strange force that I'm sure you had something to do with."  
  
"Oh, well, ah he he, see, there was this frog and, well..."  
  
"You were chasing...a frog?" The trickster raised one curious eyebrow. "Um...why?"  
  
"Because he was big and he talked!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms out at her sides to try and show how big he was.  
  
"A talking frog?"  
  
"Yes, yes, and he was really acrobatic and he did back flips and he hopped really fast and..."  
  
"Why were you chasing it?" he demanded, not bothering to hide some of his annoyance.  
  
"Oh, well, um...he kinda ran away and I wanted to see him again..."  
  
*****  
  
"How long are they going to be gone?" Amelia questioned the group as the were cleaning up the camp.  
  
"Who cares," Zelgadiss stated coldly. "The longer their gone, the better."  
  
"I quite agree," Filia broke in. "If that perverted monster never came back, we'd all live much happier lives."  
  
Gourry looked up from where he was tucking away the last of his and Lina's stuff in one of their bottomless backpacks. "But if Xellos stayed away then wouldn't Xaina stay away too?"  
  
Silence fell over the camp. Zelgadiss didn't care if the new little monster never came back but chose not to speak up. It was obvious some, if not all of the others, didn't like the idea of the child disappearing from their lives. Even Lina, who he would have thought to be the last to care, seemed a little upset by this. Then again, she had seemed to be acting differently since they had met up again.  
  
When everything was packed, the group started to continue back on the road. Their first destination was Filia's, since she was closest and wouldn't be going back to Saillune with them. It wasn't far, only an hour or so's walk. Lina, as always, took up the lead with Gourry at her heals. Amelia skipped a few paces behind them, enjoying the beautiful day with Filia, with Zel in the back with Destiny. The four birds fluttered above, occasionally flying a little ahead and landing in the trees to wait for their master. All around, it was a peaceful walk. In the back of his mind, Zel knew it wasn't to last. It never lasted when they were all together.  
  
"Well well, if it isn't the infamous Lina Inverse," a gurgle voice commented right on cue. The group whirled around, pulling out weapons and readying spells, then stopped and stared.  
  
A smile crept up on Lina's lips. "That's me. Who wants to know?"  
  
"The monster who shall be the one to destroy you."  
  
For a moment, Lina tried to contain her chuckles. A second later, the sorceress burst out laughing and was struggling to remain standing. Amelia chuckled under her breath. Gourry looked confused. Zel stared at the monster rather amused. Filia looked a bit fearful and Destiny was just as blank as before. Standing a few feet away from them was a dog sized frog who looked quite peeved.  
  
"Yo-you are going to des-des-destroy me?" Lina jeered while still laughing.  
  
"Miss Lina, I don't think you should be laughing at him," Filia whispered.  
  
"Why? What's he gonna do, croak me to death? Hey, frogy, if Amelia kiss you, will you turn in to a prince?"  
  
"Miss Lina!" the princess cried, embarrassed and slightly horrified at the idea.  
  
"Ah, co'mon, Amelia. You always said you wanted some prince to come sweep you away. Now's your chance to get one."  
  
"I AM NOT A FROG!!!!!" the monster screeched while jumping up and down, waving his arms about in frustration. "I AM NOT A FROG! I AM NOT NAMED MR. FROGY, AND I WILL NOT TURN IN TO A PRINCE IF SHE KISSES ME!!!" Lina stopped laughing. "DO YOU UNDERSTAND!?! I AM A MONSTER, NOT A FROG!!!"  
  
"Yeah, but, uh, you still look like a frog," the red head pointed out. The frog monster face faulted on the ground, feeling defeated.  
  
"Definitely a frog," Amelia agreed.  
  
"Very frog like," the blond swordsman said.  
  
"A frog from every angle," Zelgadiss sighed.  
  
"He's still a monster," Filia, the only one who wasn't laughing at the giant frog, stated in a low, bitter voice. She had already grabbed her mace out. "And he's still dangerous."  
  
"Well, at least one person is taking me seriously." The monster clasped his hands together. He slowly pulled them apart, revealing a small glowing ball of water. "I suppose I'll just have to convince the rest of you." The monster suddenly hurled the ball at them. A small squeak could be heard from Amelia as they all jumped aside. The water ball flew past and struck a tree. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, the tree burst in to pieces. "Still feel like calling me a frog?" he sneered while powering up another ball.  
  
"Uh, not really," Lina said sheepishly.  
  
A malicious smile appeared on the monster's face as he launched another water ball at the red head. She jerked just to the side of it. The energy blew up another tree. Lina hurriedly conjured up a fireball. She tossed it at the monster. He teleported just as it struck the ground, barely doing anything. She stared at the spot for a moment, not sure why the spell had been so weak, before casting another one.  
  
"Now where'd he go?" the sorceress muttered to herself. "Come out, coward!"  
  
"If you insist," he hissed, his voice emanating from all around them.  
  
"Miss Lina, above you!" Filia cried.  
  
Lina didn't bother looking up. She threw her fireball up just as the monster, who had appeared above her, dropped a water ball. The two collided and exploded with more force then either would have normally had, sending both the sorceress and monster flying back. Gourry jumped up and caught the now furious Lina. Oh, that frog was going to pay for this. All she need was a quick distraction and she could take him out.  
  
"Damn it," the monster growled. "I need a new tactic." He scanned the area. His eyes stopped as the passed over the other two sorcerers. They were casting a ra-tilt. "Oh, no ya don't." He chucked two more water balls down at them, disrupting the spells and pushing them back out in to the open. Lina had started casting a dragon slave. He smiled and licked his lips. The monster had the perfect spell for this little group. Just as he started to cast it, he thought of something: weren't there two more in the group, a dragon and a woman in black? He started looking around in a panic. Where had they gone? What were they up to? Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a beam of light heading for him...  
  
Filia's laser breath smashed in to something in the sky. Filia gave a silent cheer. He may have been fast, but not fast enough. Destiny tapped her staff on the ground and the invisibility spell disappeared. The others stared at them, stunned.  
  
"What?" Filia inquired.  
  
"That spell..." Lina started to say.  
  
"That's an invisibility spell," Amelia finished. "I though only really powerful sorcerers could cast that spell."  
  
Destiny turned her cold eyes towards the group. "They can," was all she stated before starting to walk down the road again as if nothing had happened. The four birds fluttered along behind her. Filia paused for a moment before hurriedly chasing after the woman.  
  
The others blinked. "And I thought Zel was cold," the red head commented. Zel shot her a bitter glare before starting to follow. Destiny spotted abruptly and turned around sharply. Her eyes widened for a second before glowing water suddenly surrounded them.  
  
The monster cackled as water surrounded them. "Not quite fast enough!" he taunted. "I'll have your blood yet, Lina Inverse." Everything around them turned a blinding blue. Then, it was gone. The group, minus Filia and Destiny who had not been caught in the spell, was dropped in to a lake they knew hadn't been there before. Everyone, except Zelgadiss, came sputtering up to the surface.  
  
"What happened?" Amelia demanded.  
  
"We've been teleported," Lina responded while she struggled to float.  
  
"Hey, where's Zelgadiss?" Gourry asked.  
  
"Oh no! Mr. Zelgadiss!" Amelia cried. She took a deep breath and dove down to find him. Like any good partial golem, he had sunk to the bottom. She grabbed on to him and desperately tried to help him up to the surface.  
  
Meanwhile, on the surface, the monster stood on the top of the water grinning evilly. "Oh, did little Lina fall down?" he mocked. "How 'bout I help you back up." He twiddled his fingers, lifting her out of the waterwith an unseen spell.  
  
"Fireball!" she cried, releasing another spell. The frog called a small bit of the water up to make a shield, dropping her in the process. The fire burned through the shield and in to his shoulder. He winced it pain. "Oh, now your gonna get it, buddy!" she snapped in irritation when Gourry had pulled her back up. (There really wasn't much else he could do.) His cold eyes turned from his wound back to her. "I'd love to see you try." He lifted her out of the water again with an invisible hand. He dropped her once again just as she cast a dil brand. The spell went off but fizzled and did nothing. His amphibian lips were turned up in an evil sneer. "Is that the best you got, little girl?" He used his spell to pick her up again. "Go ahead, take your best shot."  
  
"With pleasure," a new voice hissed. A staff smacked in to the frog and Lina was, once more, dropped in to the lake. The monster went flying through the near by trees around the lake, thrown out of sight. Gourry grabbed her and pulled her back up to the surface. "What is this, drop Lina day!" the red head cried in frustration. Her eyes widened in shock as she stared at the new comer.  
  
"Alright, ten points!" the new comer cried  
  
"It couldn't be... but how..." Lina sputtered. The new comer dove in to the water. She dropped down and grabbed Zel and Amelia. A few seconds later, they were on the land gasping for air with Lina and Gourry next to them. "Xaina! But...but..."  
  
The young woman glanced over at Lina and smiled. She looked just like the little half cat child. Her clothes, her face, her eyes, everything was exactly the same, except she was older. A lot older...at least twenty years. "You alright?"  
  
"..."  
  
The neko monster cocked her head to one side in confusion. "I'll take that as a yes, I guess." Lina glanced over to where the frog monster had disappeared and back at the young woman. "Oh, don't worry about him. He wont be coming back anytime soon," she explained in a cheery voice while waving a dismissive hand. "Now, if you'll excuse me. I have other things I need to take care of." She gave them one more bright smile with her eyes closed (looking just a little too much like Xellos) and disappeared.  
  
"Ahhhhh...what just happened?" Gourry asked. Sadly, he was not the only one confused.  
  
(Yeah! Another chapter done while listening to some slayers music on my iTunes. I'm sorry if this chapter was a little confusing. I'm not all that good at writing battle stuff and well, the story has taken over itself. Ihave no idea what exactly was going on at the end, but oh well. I guess I'll figure it out when I write the next chapter. Oh, and the bottomless back pack is sort of my version of a bag of holding, only it holds more and is lighter. They always have so much stuff but no packs of any sort so I figure they had to have something like this on them.) 


	12. A Little Time For Rest

Lina wrung out her hair, trying to squeeze out every last drop of water from it. If she had said it once, she had said it a million times: she hated dealing with monsters. The fact that she was now soaking wet and slightly chilled only reminded her of that fact. Gourry pulled his still damp shirt back on and sighed.  
  
No one had been able to give him an answer for what had happened. "Isn't Xaina still little?" the blond asked again.  
  
"For the tenth time, yes!" Lina snapped back. Zelgadiss squeezed his cloak. "Are you sure it was her and not some other monster?"  
  
"Yes, I'm sure!" the red head argued. "She looked just like Xaina...except older... and taller. If someone was impersonating her, they got the age completely wrong."  
  
"Maybe she can choose how old she appears," Amelia suggested while using her fingers for a brush. "She is a monster, after all."  
  
"Yeah, but Xaina's not like other monsters. She's...different. That's the only thing I can think to describe her. The fact is, even she can change her apparent age, I don't think she knows how. She's only known she was part monster for three weeks."  
  
"Then the question is: who did we see and why did she look like Xaina?"  
  
~*~*~  
  
Filia let out a small yelp after Lina and the others disappeared. "Ahhh!!! Where'd they go!"  
  
"Away from here," Destiny supplied. There was a slight hint of anger in her cold voice. Filia glanced back at the creepy woman, half in fear, half in shock. This was the first time she had ever heard or seen the woman use any emotions. She reached out and grabbed Filia's wrist. "Don't let go," Destiny ordered.  
  
"Why, what are we..."  
  
The dragon was cut off as Destiny tapped the end of her staff on the ground. They suddenly disappeared in a dark mist. The mist wrapped around them, blocking out all other sights. A blasting cold covered Filia's body. She wanted to cry out, but her voice was caught in throat. Destiny seemed completely calm as she held on to the blond's wrist. The mist then vanished as suddenly as it had appeared. Destiny released the dragon. Her fac e was flushed with a little color and the woman nearly fell over. She caught herself against a tree. Filia watched, too shocked to say or do anything. For a moment, the blond could swear she saw red tints in Destiny's hair and her eyes were slightly bluish. She blinked and they were gone, so the dragon dismissed them as part of her imagination. Three of the birds all cawed at once as a white one flew towards them from several trees away. 'Where was that one,' Filia wondered.  
  
One of the bushes groaned. Filia leaped away from it; her tail popped out. Destiny balanced herself and aimed her staff towards the bush. The giant frog monster sat up from the bush, rubbing a huge bump on his head. His eyes were spinning. He swayed slightly as he attempted to stand and gazed up at the women. He blinked several times, as if trying to remember something. Suddenly, it struck him and he jumped back.  
  
"Ahhh! No! Don't hurt me! Not again!" the frog monster cried.  
  
"Leave and don't bother us again and we will spare your miserable life," Destiny stated, her cold tone back once again.  
  
"Y-yes yes, of course," he stated nervously before bounding off among the underbrush.  
  
"Well, that was easy," Filia sighed. "Now we just need to find Miss Lina and the others."  
  
~*~*~  
  
"Would you stop reading and help, Zel," Lina scolded as she dropped the make shift hook back in the water. Gourry sat next to her, board. She had sent Amelia off to gather fire wood a little while ago when they (which mainly meant Lina) decided they should stay there for the night and figure out where they were in the morning. Zelgadiss didn't bother looking up from his book. "What are you reading?"  
  
"I'm trying to translate this so we know more about the prophecy," the chimera replied irritably.  
  
"Prophecy? Oh yeah, that. Any luck so far?"  
  
"Not with you talking to me every five minutes."  
  
The red head stared at him for a moment before shrugging it off. "What a grouch," she whispered to Gourry.  
  
For the first time in an hour, the blond was suddenly alert. He looked down at her, confused. "What?"  
  
"Nothing, never mind," she hastily replied, knowing better then to let him really know. Gourry had an annoying habbit of repeating everything he heard.  
  
"But..."  
  
"Just try an' catch some fish, jellyfish brains!" she snapped, though she wasn't exactly sure why. He hadn't done anything to provoke her. She was just angry all of a sudden. 'Must be that stupid monster's fault,' she thought in a dismissive tone.  
  
"Kay," was the swordsman's only reply. He was becoming quite good at not questioning her or making any rude comments about her body. She smiled at the thought. She had been nervous the first two or three months they had been married, but things were looking pretty good now.  
  
Amelia came back through the trees and dropped some random dry debris from the forest. "There. That's the best I could find," the princess sighed.  
  
"Great, now if we could just catch some fish..." the sorceress trailed off. "Why did I leave the food with Filia?" she sighed to herself. After several minutes with out so much as a nibble, even with her fishing spellin effect, Lina threw down her stick with a line tied to it. "Damn it! Doesn't this lake have any fish!?!"  
  
"Obviously not," Zel replied.  
  
Lina shot him an evil glare. "At least I'm doing something! All you've done is sit there and read that damn book!"  
  
"Hey, whoa, Lina, calm down," Gourry said in a gentle voice.  
  
"You keep out of this!" she snapped at the blond. Her anger quickly turned back to it's original target. "I don't care if that book has some stupid prophecy in it, or your cure, or any even the meaning of life!..."  
  
"Miss Lina..." Amelia tried to break in.  
  
"And you!" she roared, changing victims. "You over grown daddy's girl! I should have fireballed you back to that f..."  
  
"Lina, calm down," Gourry interrupted as he placed his hands on her shoulders...  
  
*****  
  
There was a sudden explosion not too far from where Filia and Destiny were. Filia let out an exhausted sigh. "They must be over there."  
  
"Very well then," destiny replied. She grabbed Filia's hand and tapped her staff on the ground. The black mist reappeared but only for a second this time. When it faded, they were surrounded by a startled Zelgadiss and Amelia, a panting, obviously furious, Lina, and one charred Gourry lying on the ground.  
  
"Where the hell have you two been!?!" the red head demanded.  
  
"You might not want to answer that," Gourry moaned. Lina gave him a hard kick in the side. "Shut up! No one's talking to you!" Destiny stepped forward. "We were looking for you. If you wish us to leave, we shall, but if you wish to attack anyone else further, I am afraid I shall have to stop you," the cold woman explained rather abrubtly.  
  
"Oh, is that so," Lina growled while an evil grin appeared on her face. She was already starting up another fireball spell. Destiny shook her staff slightly and a cold chill ran through Lina's body. The sorceress suddenly dropped to the ground, shivering. The others watched, not sure whether to help Lina or let her take the punishment. "W-w-what was th-th-that?" she squeaked out.  
  
"You have a hot temper. I thought you could use some cooling. It will wear off in a few hours or so," Destiny explained. Gourry managed to get back up to his feet and crawled over to the small woman. He wrapped his arms around her in a useless attempt to warm her. "If anyone else has a problem, I will be happy to correct their behavior." The others all shied away from her.  
  
~*~*~  
  
"They can't be too much further," Xaina insisted. (Bet ya thought I forgot about them, didn't ya? ;)  
  
Xellos followed the floating child on foot, quite confused. "I don't think they are," he stated. "They wouldn't have gone this far."  
  
"Then where are they?" the child half cried. She floated over and dropped in to the monster's arms. "You don't think they left us, do ya?"  
  
"I'm sure they did. I'm just not sure where they went. Usually I can find them right away..."  
  
"We could try Filia's house. We didn't look there." Xellos peered down at the child through his closed eyes. "Well, you do like going there."  
  
"What makes you think that?" he asked, not sure what gave his student that impression.  
  
"You like annoying her an' breaking her things, so I thought you liked it there."  
  
An evil grin appeared on Xellos' face. "Well, the meals are sometimes good. I do enjoy those late night snakes from time to time..."  
  
"Even if it is mean?"  
  
"Because it's mean. We're monsters, remember?"  
  
"Yeah, well you can go on being mean all you want. I'm not going to help you. I was always told it was wrong."  
  
"And your early teacher was wrong."  
  
"Mom was not wrong!" the neko girl protested. "She was never wrong!"  
  
Xellos gave the child a gentle pat on the head. "Yes, just keep telling yourself that. Perhaps someday it will be true."  
  
She jerked out of his grasp. "It is true! Yer just being mean again!"  
  
"That's because you make the best little snacks for the road," he teased.  
  
"Jerk," she grumbled.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Lina clung close to the fire. Gourry had her tightly wrapped up in his arms for warmth, but it was only now beginning to help. The sun had set and Filia had pulled the food out of her bag for dinner. While dinner smelled good, Lina couldn't find her appetite. She was too cold to eat. She hated being cold. Worst of all, this wasn't just a little chill; this was a bone numbing cold, like she had been standing out in the snow naked. She snuggled against her husband, trying desperately to absorb some of his warmth, and not caring who saw her.  
  
"How long does that spell last, Miss Destiny?" Amelia asked as she poked the fire.  
  
"Four to five hours. It will wear off soon," the black mage replied.  
  
"Where did you learn a spell like that?"  
  
"A temple. A priest taught it to a child for self defense when he was traveling and I have obtained the knowledge from the child."  
  
"How?" the chimera demanded suspiciously.  
  
"By seeking him out for the spell. I am a keeper of knowledge. I make it my life to know all that was, is, and will be. He had knowledge I required, so I found him." The woman pulled out her bag of birdseed and small dish. She poured in the birdseed and the feeding frenzy of the feathered began.  
  
Several minutes of silence passed by. Filia dished out the soup just as the cold spell was wearing off of Lina and her appetite was returning. The second feeding frenzy began. Zelgadiss, Filia, and Destiny gave Lina, Gourry, and Amelia plenty of room to fight. Filia and Destiny calmly drank tea while Zel continued to translate more of the book. Just as the second frenzy was reaching as end, Zel stopped to read what he had translated. He read it twice...three times...four...checked the translation...checked again...  
  
Amelia noticed the slightly panicked look on the chimera's face. "Is something the matter Mr. Zelgadiss?" He stared at her blankly and then handed her the page. Just like him, the princess read the note over and over again. "No, this can't be right."  
  
"What?" Lina inquired now that she was in a much better mood.  
  
"Are you sure this is what it says?" Amelia asked Zel, completely ignoring the sorceress. Zel nodded. "But...but then..."  
  
"Then what?!" Lina snapped.  
  
"We're all doomed," Zelgadiss muttered.  
  
"Doomed?" Filia inquired.  
  
"Why?! What does it say!?!" Amelia held the paper out to the red head. Lina read it...then read it again...and again...and again... A look of horror spread across her face. "No, no nononono." Her eyes shifted slightly up to look at the confused Gourry. She suddenly smacked him in to a tree. "NO! NO! This is your fault! Your fault!!!" she wailed at him.  
  
  
  
(Oh, evil clif hanger, huh? Oh, and the little Xellos/Xaina thing was because I was missing them and they were getting cut so much out of the story. Don't worry, they'll be back again soon. Hopefully, they'll find the others in the next chapter.) 


	13. What's a Stork?

(Oh, I really do need to go back and read my reviews more often. Winged Dancer, if you're reading, feel free to do a picture of Xaina. I've done several of my own but I don't currently have a scanner so I can't put her up anywhere on my web page. Lauren-sama, you're a great writer and thanks for being so loyal. Minimerc, I personally think Lina is PMSing most of the time. Yeah, she was mean and yelled at everyone, but she's been having a bad day. We all have those sometimes and every little thing sets us off. And to everyone else who has reviewed, thank you. I love all of you for reading. You help keep this story/series/fafic/whatever going. Well, I'm off to write then next chapter.)  
  
Gourry moaned as he hit the tree. He had no idea why Lina had hit him. He was pretty sure he hadn't said anything about her body. "What'd I do?" the swordsman groaned.  
  
"Everything!" the little red head cried.  
  
Filia leaned in close to Amelia and whispered, "What does the translation say?"  
  
"That Lina is not the one the prophecy is talking about," Amelia replied.  
  
"She's not?" Amelia shook her head.  
  
Destiny took a sip of her tea. "Her child is," the cold mage stated.  
  
"But they don't have a child," Filia tried to protest.  
  
"Not yet, anyway," Zel sighed as he watched Lina yell at Gourry. "I can picture it now; Gourry's brain, Lina's temper, and all the power and abilities both of them posses."  
  
The ex-priestess stared at him, horrified. "The world is doomed."  
  
"That's what the prophecy says," Destiny put in.  
  
"Well, it couldn't come true if they never had any children," Amelia interjected, trying to be at least a little optimistic.  
  
Lina heard the comment and stopped her yelling and beating of Gourry. "Hey, that's right," the sorceress said with a new sense of understanding. An evil smile spread across her face as she glared at Gourry. "And I think I know how to be sure of that." She pulled out her short sword. "Co'mere Gourry." The blond yelped and hurriedly scooted away from her. He back up against a tree and began to panic.  
  
"That will do nothing but hurt him," Destiny suddenly broke in. Lina stopped and looked over her shoulder at the woman in black. "You are already pregnant."  
  
"What!?!?!" everyone except Gourry cried.  
  
"No I'm not!" Lina shouted.  
  
"You are approximately four months in, actually."  
  
"That might explain the sudden mood swing this afternoon," Zelgadiss commented before even thinking about.  
  
The red head suddenly pounded her fist in to the top of the chimera's head. She instantly regretted it as pain went shooting through her fist. She clutched the hand close the her chest until the pain started to subside. Zel rubbed the top of his head. "I was just having a bad day, ok? That giant frog was a pain. I can't be pregnant," Lina protested further. "I don't even like kids."  
  
"You seem to like Xaina," Filia pointed out.  
  
"The monster child can also unconsciously manipulate emotions of any living creature," Destiny responded. "Just because the child is not yet aware of the full extent of her abilities does not mean that they can not work, even if not under her control. It matters not how much you may or may not like children when you are around her since she can make you like her anyway."  
  
"I'm not pregnant!" the red head cried.  
  
Everyone was quiet for a moment. Amelia was the first to speak up. "Well, um, Miss Lina...when...when was the last time...you...um, well had that time of the month?" A huge blush spread across the princess' face. Gourry in the back ground scratched his head. He still had no idea what she was so upset about.  
  
Lina stood completely still. Her mind went in to shock. Now that she thought about it, she couldn't really remember the last time she had menstruated. "Hey wait a second. If I were, then how come I'm not sick in the mornings or eating more?!" she demanded.  
  
"How would you know if you were eating more?" Filia inquired.  
  
"My mother never got sick when she was pregnant with me," Amelia supplied.  
  
Lina groaned. This day was just getting worse and worse. "Um...guys?" Gourry said suddenly. Everyone stared at him. As usual, the swordsman looked completely lost.  
  
"Oh good gods, you have no idea want's going on, do you?" Lina whined. Her husband shook his head. Lina dropped to her knees and sat on her feet. She wanted to cry. "Why did I have to marry an idiot?" she asked rhetorically.  
  
"Cuz you like me," the blond man tried to answer.  
  
"That's a rhetorical question, jellyfish! It means your not suppose to answer!" she yelled. He flinched, afraid she was about to go in to another tirade. She sighed, trying to let off some of her anger. "Gourry, co'mere and sit," she ordered calmly while pointing at the ground in front of her. He hesitated but finally decided it might be safe and went to sit.  
  
"Maybe we should give them some privacy," Amelia whispered to the others. They nodded and scuttled quietly away.  
  
Gourry sat down in front of his small wife who seemed even smaller now. She was hunched over so her hair covered her face. They were both quiet. When she didn't say anything for a while, he figured he should do something. His mind pointed him back to what usually worked when she got really mad. "Lina, I'm sorry. I don't know what I did, but..." He was cut off as she suddenly threw her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder. He wrapped his arms tenderly around her in an attempt to comfort the small woman. She rarely hugged him, and usually she was upset when she did. He gently rocked her back and forth. Lina's body shook slightly and he could tell she was crying. Of all the things she had ever done, this scared him the most. Gourry had never seen her cry and it hurt so badly to see it now. He kissed the side of her head, trying to ease her pain. "It's alright Lina. It'll be alright," he whispered.  
  
"It's not alright," she sniffled.  
  
"Why? What's wrong?"  
  
"Everything." She slid down in his arms so her head leaned against his chest and she could hear his heartbeat. Gourry didn't stop rocking her. He squeezed her a little tighter, trying to make her feel more secure. "I'm pregnant...it means I'm having a baby," she explained before he could ask.  
  
"Your having a baby?" She nodded weakly. "Isn't that a good thing?"  
  
Lina pushed back from him so she could look him in the eyes. He reached up and gently brushed away some of her tears. "Usually, but...oh gods, please tell me you know where babies come from, and if you mention anything about a stork, I'll kill you!" she snapped harsher then she had meant to.  
  
"A stork? What does a stork have to do with babies? What's a stork?"  
  
"A bird. What do you know about where babies come from?" Gourry stopped to think about this. He knew he had heard about that somewhere, he just couldn't remember it. "Don't hurt yourself," she commented dryly when he didn't respond right away.  
  
Suddenly, an image of his family came in the swordsman's mind. Hadn't his aunt had lots of children. Now where had they come from... "From... um... inside their mommy, I think. I think that's what my mother told me... maybe it was my aunt..."  
  
"Good, you know a little bit at least," the young woman sighed in relief.  
  
"Well, my aunt had lots of children and that's where they came from. But she got really fat when they were growing inside her." He reached down and poked Lina's belly. "Are you sure there's a baby in there?"  
  
She glanced down. "No, but everyone else says there is," she responded honestly. "It's your baby too, ya know."  
  
"I know," he said as he rubbed a hand over her stomach, now fascinated with that part of her. "There has to be a mommy and a daddy before there can be a baby. I'm your husband, so I have to be the daddy."  
  
Lina weakly smiled. At least he understood enough that she didn't really need to explain anything. Now that she thought about it, her clothes did seem a little tight around her stomach lately. Maybe she really was expecting. 'Why didn't I notice?' she wondered. 'Great, some of Gourry's idiocy is rubbing on to me. This child had better not be stupid.'  
  
~*~*~  
  
Filia paced anxiously. "Are you sure it's her child?" "That's what the book says," Zelgadiss sighed. He was leaned against a tree. "From what I have been translating, this prophecy came true in another world. The man who wrote it describes the four people involved in the beginning."  
  
"There are four?"  
  
"A human black mage who is the child of one who has been a vessel for the mother of all things, a monster of white who exists of both good and evil, a partial demon white mage, and a black dragon," Destiny said. "Her child shall be the black mage."  
  
"And Xaina's the monster, isn't she?" Amelia asked. Destiny nodded. "What about the dragon and demon?"  
  
"I am not at liberty to share such information. I have simple told you what Zelgadiss has already translated."  
  
"No, telling us would make things too easy for us," Zelgadiss grumbled sarcastically. "I bet you don't even know who the other two are." Destiny ignored his comment and glanced over at the rising moon.  
  
The group fell quiet again. "So what have you found out from translating, Mr. Zelgadiss?" Amelia inquired.  
  
"So far, I've only gotten a little information about the four people involved. The first one was the dragon, who was the son of the man who wrote the book. The second was the monster, who he described as being dark and evil. She sounds like a typical monster, except that she is very strong for being so young. Xaina will probably be like that when she grows up..."  
  
"She's half human, so there is some redeeming qualities in her," Filia tried to argue. "I'm sure she can be..."  
  
"She's still a monster," Zelgadiss interrupted. "She may not act like it now, but she will if you give her time."  
  
"Not if I have anything to say about it," the dragon woman muttered.  
  
Zelgadiss sighed. "Anyway, the third one he described was the demon. He was a priest to some dark lord I've never heard of from their world. From what the man describes, the demon was very angry at the world. He had been an outcast from all of society all of his life.  
  
"The last one was the son of the destroyer of dark lords. He was supposedly the most powerful, but he never really learned a lot of control over the magic he knew. He was a small child when his parents died. Many things seem to be the same for both worlds..."  
  
"Even about being a vessel for the Lord of Nightmares?" Amelia interrupted.  
  
The chimera nodded. "He described her using a powerful spell that she lost control of, which sounds like the giga slave while fighting a monster lord. She was lost in the fight but the world was spared. Obviously, events in this world are not quite the same. A lot of it will most likely be different in this world, I expect. The main elements, however, seem to all be the same."  
  
"I don't think we should mention any of this to Miss Lina," Filia sighed.  
  
"That would probably be best...for now," the shamanist confirmed.  
  
"What do we do when he's born?" the dragon continued. "I know this may sound a little cruel, but we can't let him live, can we? He is going to be a destroyer of the world, after all."  
  
"Good question," Zel sighed. "Something tells me Lina isn't going to give up her child so easily. I do agree with you, though. Letting the child live is probably not a good idea."  
  
"Mr. Zelgadiss! Miss Filia! You can't be serious!" Amelia cried.  
  
"Oh, and what would you propose we do? Let it live and destroy everything?"  
  
They fell silent again, listening to the sounds of crickets and frogs near by. The princess didn't have an answer for him. The truth was, she didn't know what to do either. She was certain that killing Lina's baby was not right, though. Killing a child just didn't seem just. Amelia shuddered as she felt some of the cold creeping in. "Do you think they're done?" she inquired.  
  
"I haven't heard any explosions," Filia replied.  
  
"Or Gourry screaming in pain," Zelgadiss added. "It might be safe."  
  
The group trekked back to the warmth of the fire. When they came to the small clearing, they found Lina curled up in Gourry's arms. The blond was leaned up against a tree with her sitting on his lap. She looked like she had been crying but seemed to be better now. She hurriedly wiped her eyes to make sure there were no tears left when she saw them coming. None of them could ever recall a time when they had seen her cry before.  
  
"Are you alright, Miss Lina?" Amelia asked in concern.  
  
Lina smiled brightly. "Yeah, sure. Just got some dirt in my eyes, that's all. Is there anything let to eat?" 


	14. Thoughts and Reflections

The waiter scrambled over to the table with several trays of food and then hurriedly back away from the ravenous people. He was terrified he'd lose an arm if he left it in the free for all feast. Several of the candles had already disappeared from sight. 'They had better have enough money to pay for all that,' he thought.  
  
"After eating that much food, you'd think they would put on great amounts of weight," Destiny commented to her other two companions who did not take part in the carnage.  
  
"One would think that, and yet they don't," Filia replied. "I still wish we knew where we were." The dragon woman peered over at the chimera scanning over all of his maps. "Still no luck, Mr. Zelgadiss."  
  
Zel shook his head. "None. I can't even find the kingdom, let alone this town." He sighed. "We may very well be in uncharted land."  
  
"Well, if you ask the people who live here, it's charted," a childish voice commented. Zel glanced over to see a winged child sitting in the seat next to him. He jumped slightly but then calmed down when he realized who the girl was.  
  
"Oh, your back," the rock skinned man stated dryly.  
  
"You don't want me here?"  
  
"Oh no, we don't mind you being here," Filia answered with a smile. It instantly turned to a grimace as she glanced at the purple haired monster sitting behind her. "It's him we don't want."  
  
Xellos gave her his usual smile. "Oh, Filia, you wound me," he teased.  
  
"Hold still and I'll REALLY wound you," she retorted while reaching for her mace.  
  
The neko girl folded her arms together on the table. She rested her chin over her arms and sighed. "There doing it again."  
  
"Doing what?" Zel inquired.  
  
"Teasing each other. I think they're flirting it's kinda gross." The chimera grunted in response and went back to his maps. The girl shrugged and slid off the chair. She toddled over to Lina and climbed in the the woman's lap. Peered up at the red head and smiled. "Hello again."  
  
Lina, while taking an extremely temporary beak in her stealing and devouring of food, smiled back. "Hi." Then, it was back to the ever important food with several cries of "That's mine, Gourry!" and "Give it back, Amelia!" The child on her lap watched paitently. She was use to such scenes of mayham. Much to the amazement of the observers, Xaina managed to get a bite here and there. (That really is quite a feet for someone so small). When the last of the food was gone, the three around the table stacked with dishes sighed and sat back. Lina wrapped her arms around Xaina and hugged the girl against her stomach. "And where were you two?"  
  
"Chasing a frog monster," the neko monster replied. At this point, people in the inn were beginning to notice the strange looking child and were edging away from the adventures.  
  
"If you were chasing him, then why were we the one's fighting him?" Zelgadiss demanded, though not harshly. His eyes left his maps for only a brief moment to glance at her.  
  
"Cuz we didn't know where he took you. We couldn't find his astral something or other either..."  
  
"Astral form," Xellos supplied.  
  
"Yeah, what he said," the girl muttered while waving a dismissive hand at Xellos. Filia was still threatening to hit him while he just grinned back casually. He was restraining himself...for the moment. "Anyway," Xaina continued, "We did find out who he was an' who he worked for."  
  
"And your allowed to tell us?" Zel grumbled sarcastically.  
  
"Yep, this stuff I can share with you. His name's Ball and works for the Deep Sea Master."  
  
"His name's Ball?" Everyone except Xellos, Destiny, and Xaina chorused. Small chuckles started to escape their lips.  
  
"So he's a giant frog names Ball," Lina. The child nodded. "Ya know, I've always heard stories that there was something not quite right with Deep Sea Dolphin... Hey, can you tell us anything else?"  
  
"Um..." She pause to think, trying to remember everything she had been told she couldn't say, so she could remember what was alright to say. "Well... I know he was trying to kill you..." she said to the black sorceress more then anyone else.  
  
"We know that. Do you know why?"  
  
"Yep."  
  
The group fell silent for a moment as they anticipated an answer. When no answer came, Lina tried to spur up an one, "Well?"  
  
"Xellos insists that I should tell you that's a secret."  
  
They slayers (Except Xellos, Xaina, and Destiny of course) face faulted. "Oh great, she's already picking up your habits," Filia growled to her most despised enemy as she picked herself up again. Xellos smiled innocently. "Leave it to a monster to corrupt a perfectly good child."  
  
"You seem to keep forgetting that she has always been a monster," the mysterious priest pointed out, which only succeeded in making the dragon even more furious.  
  
"Well this doesn't help us," the red head continued to grumble as she looked down at the girl still in her arms. "Geez, between you two and Destiny, we'll never get this figured out."  
  
"What'd Destiny do?" the little monster questioned.  
  
"Miss Lina's going to have a baby," Amelia supplied proudly.  
  
"Thank you Amelia," Lina sarcastically grunted. The young princess frowned, not sure what she had done wrong.  
  
"Oh... then you already know why Ball was after you," Xaina sighed.  
  
"You knew?" the sorceress growled and glared at the girl. (Can we say mood swing?)  
  
Xaina's ears drooped and she leaned back. "Um... well... yeah, I found out yesterday...b-but Xellos knew shortly after I became bound to him..." she hastily stated while pointing at the monster trying to goad Filia in to a fight. Lina thrust the child in to Gourry's hands and turned her fiery gaze to the purple haired priest. "Uh oh. I think she's gonna kill him." The little woman suddenly pounced on Xellos and grabbed him in a head lock. "That looks painful." Gourry nodded in agreement. The sorceress pounded her fist in to the monster's head several times. "Really painful."  
  
"You knew the whole time and you didn't say anything!?!" Lina roared.  
  
"Knew? Knew what?" Xellos inquired innocently with his usually smile.  
  
Lina pounded on his head a few more times. "You know EXACTLY what I'm talking about!" she hissed, her voice now low and dangerous.  
  
Deciding that this had probably gone on for long enough, Xaina leaped out of Gourry's arms and landed on the table in front of the sorceress and monster priest. She leaned down near Xellos' face and whispered, "She means the baby thing."  
  
"Oh, that, well, yes I knew," Xellos teased with a smirk.  
  
Lina tightened her grip. "Xellos!!!"  
  
Just as his face looked like it was starting to turn blue, Lina let Xellos go. "Your...your letting him go!?!" Filia cried, not caring that everyone was now staring at them.  
  
"Well, it's not like I can kill him like that. It's a just a waste of energy trying." Lina glanced out at the window. Night had settled over the small town. Lina let out an exaggerated yawn. "It's getting kinda late anyway. We should head off to bed."  
  
Like any good yawn, Lina's spread to the neko child, the blond swordsman, and the young princess. "Yeah, I'm feeling kind of beat too," Amelia sighed. "We can figure out where we are tomorrow."  
  
"But I'm not tired," Xaina complained as she tried to stifle another yawn.  
  
"Good little girls always go to sleep on time," the dragon woman stated matter-of-factly.  
  
Xellos grinned and scooped his charge up off the table. "See, good little girls never have any fun."  
  
"That is not true," Filia argued calmly. "Good little girls are never tired because they go to bed on time and have much more time to play in the morning. They also never have to spend time in the corner for doing bad things..."  
  
"And they sit up straight and never talk and never have any friends. Oh, and did I mention they aren't allowed to have any sweets."  
  
"That's not true!"  
  
"Poor lying little dragon. I guess it's not her fault though. She is a gold dragon after all," he explained to the little girl.  
  
"This from the master of lies?" Filia quipped.  
  
"Master of secrets, not lies," Xellos retorted. "Not that I would expect a selfish dragon to understand..."  
  
"Here they go again," Xaina sighed.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Lina stared out the window. The half moon illuminated the empty street below. This whole baby thing just didn't seem right. She was a black mage; she shouldn't be having a child. Didn't high level black sorceresses have a hard time conceiving children? Wasn't black magic a destroyer of life? She shuddered at the though of someone calling her mommy. What terrified her most of all was the thought of someone to take revenge on her through her child. She knew she couldn't bare to live with herself if she had been the reason an innocent baby was hurt.  
  
She glanced over at Gourry sleeping on the bed and sighed. The truth was she really didn't want to have any children. But how could she tell him that? He seemed so content with the idea. Since she had found out two nights ago, all he had done was fuss over her. He even offered to carry her a few times if she was tired. Naturally, she turned him down, but... "I hate this," she muttered to herself.  
  
'I can picture it now; Gourry's brain, Lina's temper, and all the power and abilities both of them posses.' 'The world is doomed.'  
  
Those words still rang in her head. They were right. If this prophecy was true, then her child was just going to reduce the world to nothing. It would have Gourry's brain and her temper. "But why?" she thought out loud. "We still don't know the full extent of what's going to happen." A thought suddenly passed through her mind: giga slave! 'What...what if...' She tried to put the thought out of her mind. The thought would not be so easily drowned out. 'If this child learns that spell, it may not be able to control it. It could destroy everything without ever meaning to...but then what about the other four? What do they have to do with any of it?'  
  
A nudge on her hand brought the red head out of her thoughts. She glanced down to see Dragon rubbing his head against her fingers. "Oh, it's you. What do you want?" The bird looked up and blinked. "If your looking for food, you'll have to go bother Destiny. She's your master, remember?" Again, the bird just blinked. "No, of course you don't. You don't even understand me." This time, he let out a harsh caw. "Hey, shhhh!!! Not so loud!" she snapped in a whisper. "You'll wake everyone up!" It blinked and tilted it's head to one side. "That's better. Don't suppose you'd know anything about this prophecy you'd like to share?" she asked sarcastically. Dragon cawed several more times. "Hey, didn't I say quiet!?!" The bird stopped and nudged up against her hand more. Then he cawed again. "Okay okay! Just don't wake up the whole building, alright?" she sighed. Lina let her hand lazily reach up and stroke the bird. He let out a faint chirp of approval. She didn't even notice it as her mind wondered back in to thought.  
  
'How is the world going to be destroyed? We still don't know that yet. And what about the shadow? I'm pretty sure there was something about a shadow in there. A shadow on the heart? Shadow over judgment? A shadow could mean anything...'  
  
A pair of strong hands suddenly grabbed her shoulders. She let out a small gasp in surprise and her body tensed up. Lost in all her thoughts, she hadn't heard anything moving in the room. "You should be sleeping," a soft voice whispered.  
  
The sorceress relaxed and leaned back against him. "Sorry if Dragon woke you up," she apologized. "He didn't exactly wanna be quiet."  
  
"Who?"  
  
"Destiny's black bird, jellyfish," she grumbled.  
  
"Oh... he didn't wake me up. You should still be sleeping," Gourry insisted again while he looked down at his small wife. "It's not good for you to be up late."  
  
"Says who?"  
  
"Um... ... ... don't remember..."  
  
"Why am I not surprised? Don't answer that." She let out a deep sigh in frustration and covered her eyes with one hand. They were both quiet for a few minutes. She couldn't think of anything to say, or at least anything that wouldn't confuse or upset him. He just watched her with his hands still resting on her shoulders, not sure what was wrong. "Hey, if dragon didn't wake you up, then what did."  
  
Gourry shrugged. "Don't know. Just woke up."  
  
Her crimson eyes flickered back to the bird in question. "I wonder..." she trailed off. She turned her hand up and urged him to climb on. Dragon readily obeyed. The sorceress called up some of her magic and cast an identifying spell on him. "That's what I thought," she muttered.  
  
"What?"  
  
"He has a silencing spell on him. My guess is that only people he wants to hear him can. The others probably have it too. It certinally would explain a lot." She held him a little closer to her face so she could stare in to his black eyes. "I bet you guys make a whole lot of noise no one but you can hear." The bird titled it's head to one side and blinked. "They really are weird birds. Sometimes I think they're Destiny's familiars."  
  
"Familiars? People she knows?"  
  
"No, spiritual partners...kinda like pets, except their owner can talk to them. Most people only have one since if a familiar dies, its master is left with a defect in their mind forever." She glanced up at the swordsman, who was completely lost. "It makes them crazy it their familiar dies."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"That's why it's better to only have one. Having more then that not only takes a lot of energy and time, but it can be really risky. Then again, Destiny does seem pretty powerful, so I wouldn't put a whole lot past her at this point." Dragon leaped off her hand towards the window. His wings flickered out and carried him out on the air. Lina watched him enviously. She couldn't help but think of wonderful life would be if she were a bird with no problems or cares.  
  
Gourry scooped Lina up in his arms. "Hey! Gourry! Put me down!"  
  
"You need to go to bed," he explained.  
  
"I'm not tired!"  
  
"It's not good for you or the baby to be up late. It'll make you sick."  
  
"It will not! And I feel fine!" He ignored her protests and carried her over to the bed. She kicked and hit him, but he had done this enough before that he knew how to keep a hold on her. Gourry laid her down and grabbed some of the covers to pull over her. She tried to get back up put her wouldn't let her. "There is nothing wrong with me staying up late! And what would a guy with the brains of fish bait know about what's good for me, anyway!?!"  
  
He gave her a light peck on the forehead, much to her annoyance. "Go to sleep," the blond insisted gently.  
  
"I'm not a little kid."  
  
"You look..." His sentence was cut off by a fist pounding in to his head.  
  
Lina growled as she hit him. When she was tired of that, she grabbed some of his hair. "Oh, and if I look so much like a little kid then why'd ya marry me, huh? Got something for little girls, pervert?"  
  
"No, no, I swear!"  
  
"You had better not! Especially if this kid is a girl!" she snapped and released him. "And I know what's best for me. You not taking my food from me would be one of them."  
  
"You take mine..."  
  
"Only because you started it! I'm acting out of self defense! I'm just a poor little innocent girl!"  
  
"If you're innocent then how come there's a baby inside you?" Lina glared at him. He was generally not to bright, but on those moments when he was, she usually wanted to pound the daylights out of him. Gourry smiled innocently and backed away slowly. He scuttled around to the other side of the bed and carefully crawled in. She glared at him the whole time. After several moments of just staring at the rather terrified blond, she sighed and gave in. She slipped down under the blankets and rolled on to her side so she didn't have to look at him. Gourry smiled and snuggled up against her back. He snaked his arm around her waist, letting his hand rest over her stomach, and kissed her on side of her neck. She wasn't exactly happy with him, but at least he knew she wasn't really angry either. "I love you Lina," he whispered. She smiled and let her hand rest just over his.  
  
*****  
  
A small murmur escaped the sleeping child's body. Filia smiled down at the little girl. She was so sweet and innocent... 'and she'll remain that way if I have anything to say about it,' the dragon woman grunted mentally. She brushed some of ebony hair out of the girl face and gave her a small kiss on the side of the head. The scent of soup was easily picked up by the blond's sensitive dragon senses. There was only one thing she would have ever given Xellos credit for and that was that he kept Xaina immaculate and well fed. Since he had started taking care of her, she was always freshly washed and never hungry. He took his job as her care taker quite seriously, much to her surprise. Everything else, as far as she was concerned anyway, was wrong.  
  
The smell of soup reminded her of her own baby back home. She had promised to be gone for only three or four days at the most. With no idea where she was, she knew she wouldn't have much luck teleporting back to her home. And even if she did, that would leave Lina unprotected; it was already clear that some of the monster race wanted her dead. It raised her suspicion of Xellos as well. It was doubtful that Xaina was being told much, so there was no point in asking the child what he was doing. The general/priest, of course, would only say it was a secret. "Stupid monsters," she grumbled.  
  
"What was that, Miss Filia?" Amelia inquired as she looked up from some of Zelgadiss' new translations.  
  
"Oh, nothing. So what else has been translated?"  
  
The princess sighed. "Not much that's really useful yet. A lot of it is about the dragon. He doesn't really seem all that bad from the descriptions. He loved all creatures, and he was a healer who traveled around their world curing people of fatal illnesses. He really sounds like more of a hero then a murderer."  
  
Filia padded over and glanced over Amelia's shoulder to read some of it.  
  
'He was very handsome and graceful when I first saw him after his travels... ... His life had been spent in the service of the earth dragon king. ... ...close to his parents. ... ... ... ... ... I remember Antra told me once that all life was precious. That was why he had became a healer at the temple but never advanced on to being a priest. He had wanted to preserve all life and he felt a priest was no as good as a healer at doing that. I didn't mention the prophecy to him when he first came even though I already knew of it. I was afraid of what he would say or how he would react. When I look back now... ... ...'  
  
"You right. He doesn't sound dangerous at all. I feel sort of sorry for him. I wonder what the end is suppose to say?"  
  
The princess shrugged. "We probably wont ever know. Mr. Zelgadiss showed the page, and I'm amazed he got this much out of it. The ink is almost completely gone. He's probably still working on it right now, though." Her ocean eyes flickered over to the wall. Zel was on the other side most likely working himself to the point of exhaustion. The princess longed to help him, but there wasn't much she could do. She was an expert at languages. All she would be able to do was bring him coffee and off some moral support. She was better off not disturbing him. "We should know more soon enough."  
  
"Let's hope so," the ex-priestess sighed.  
  
(I swear, I had no idea what was going on most of the time in this chapter. It all literally wrote itself. I just pressed the keys for it. I'm pretty sure this isn't going to go more then two or three more chapters. The next one will be shorter and will have some fun with Destiny's birds. I promise. What exactly, you wonder? *smiles in Xellos fashion and waves a finger* That's a secret. Ah, yes Lauren-sama, I do agree that mixing Lina and Gourry's genes is quite dangerous. Their child is going to be a destroyer of the planet, after all. I don't think you can get much more dangerous then that. Lina herself on a really bad day, maybe... Anyway, do please review, though. I love to hear your comments and I promise to try and respond to them in my comments if you ask any questions or anything.) 


	15. Well This Sucks

"This is where we are," Zelgadiss stated as he pointed to a map.  
  
"But that's..." Amelia started.  
  
"Back inside the barrier lands!" Filia finished. "We are in the completely wrong place!"  
  
"Which is exactly why I couldn't figure out where we were," the chimera explained. "We are considerably closer, however. From Lyzeille, which is where we are, it should only take us four months to get to Saillune."  
  
"Great," Lina muttered sarcastically as she plopped back on her bed to sulk. Xaina climbed on to the bed next to her and handed a small, stuffed toy to her. Lina paused from pouting and glanced at the little wolf stuffed animal. "Booie?"  
  
"I thought he might make you feel better because you seem kinda upset," the child explained. "You can borrow him for a little while if you like. He's really good for keeping away all the bad dreams and stuff." Xaina gave the sorceress a bright smile before floating over to sit on Xellos' shoulders.  
  
Lina sat there stunned. It had never actually occurred to her that Xaina noticed when everyone else was truly upset. Destiny had said she manipulated emotions, not read them. 'Good gods, she going to kill the world with kindness,' was the only thought that ran through her head. How could this little girl ever become some evil monster that would destroy everything? How could she be a destroyer of the planet? She probably didn't even know the meaning of the word cruel.  
  
"So which way are we going?" the princess asked.  
  
"We'll take this road. It the fastest and isn't widely traveled, so we shouldn't be bothered much."  
  
"In other words, there aren't many town on the way so we should stalk up before we leave this morning," Filia translated. Zel nodded.  
  
*~*~*  
  
The sun was warm and bright as it shown down on the travelers. A light breeze rustled the trees in the woods and carried the scents of summer on it. The town was almost three hours away now. Xellos had disappeared with Xaina to teach her the rules of monsters and about not spilling secrets even to people she liked. No one was bickering or fighting. Life seemed good. It was a perfect walk. However, as was the way of the universe, this peace could not remain...especially if you traveled with Lina Inverse (Gabriev). While Lina would admit she was married to Gourry, she still wouldn't call herself by his sir name. The name Inverse held a great deal more power behind it than Gabriev. Besides, she didn't really want to have to go back around terrorizing bandit gangs to remind them she was still the same person, just with a different name.  
  
As they started to climb up a hill, Destiny stopped abruptly. "Halt," she ordered.  
  
The others paused and glanced back at her. "What's the matter Miss Destiny?" Amelia inquired.  
  
"There is something wrong."  
  
"Wrong? What's wrong?" Lina asked as she glanced around. She didn't see anything out of the ordinary. She started to take a few steps forward but was stopped by a tap on her shoulder.  
  
Lina glanced back to see the ice woman had touch the red head's shoulder with her staff. "That way is dangerous," Destiny informed her. "We should send a scout." She flicked her hand up towards the four birds who had found a branch to perch on. "Outcast, come." The golden bird dived down and landed on the woman's hand. "You will go over the hill and see what is there. Then come back and report to us."  
  
'Just what I though! They're familiars,' Lina thought as the bird fluttered to the ground. Destiny pulled a small golden jewel out from under her cape. She held it flat in her palm and closed her ebony eyes. The pale woman lifted her staff so the shadowy orb was over the stone. The others watched with great curiosity while the bird just stood on the dirt road and waited. The stone started to glow bright yellow. The light burst forth from her hand. It struck the bird who didn't even flinch. The light surrounded the avian, getting brighter as it did so. The others could barely look at it. The light grew and changed form. 'What the hell...?' Then, it disappeared. The stone was gone from Destiny's hand.  
  
The golden bird was gone and in its place was a young girl. She looked to be only a year or two older then Xaina and just about as thin as little neko monster too. All her lemon yellow hair had been pulled in to pig tails with violet hair ties except two long strand that hung in front of her pointed ears. Two much smaller strand that rested just above her lavender eyes looked like they had been died a dark amethyst. She wore a plain brown shall that was tied in the front near her neck instead of buttoned like most shawls. It was too big for her and came down past her waist. A long sleeved green blouse was tucked in to a pair of dirty off- white pants held up with a leather belt. Her soft shoes had tarnished silver buttons instead of laces. A long golden tail stuck out of the back of her pants. The spade on the end was the same amethyst color as her hair. A violet bow had been tied to the dragon appendage in a similar fashion to Filia's. The girl rubbed her eyes, digging out any gew with her bare fingers. She yawned and stretched, then smoothed down her shirt and pants. The girl glanced up at the road ahead of them and her tail tensed. "Do I have to go?" she whined. Destiny's cold gaze focused on the girl but she said nothing. "It doesn't smell right. I don't wanna go."  
  
"Now," the black mage ordered.  
  
"bu..."  
  
"Now."  
  
The child glanced back up the hill again. Her upper body scrunched up. She gave a pleading look to Destiny. The girl's eyes watered and her bottom lip curled out. She let out a small whimper. Destiny remained unmoved by the amazing display of cute begging. The woman pointed up the road. "Okay," Outcast quivered. Her little hands clutched together as she cautiously toddled up the side of the small hill.  
  
Everyone else fumbled for words. None of them had any idea what had just happened. They stared at the spot where she had disappeared over the hill in a stupor. Destiny, for her part, didn't seem the least bit upset, disturbed, shock, or any of the numerous other emotions the others were displaying. Filia was the first to break out of her surprise. The dragon woman clenched her fists and snagged the shorter, dark haired woman by the collar. As usual, Destiny was unfazed. "How dare you abduct a dragon child and torture her!" Prince glided down and landed on the Amelia's shoulder. Monster gracefully landed down on the ground next to Lina. Dragon remained up in the tree.  
  
"I have neither abducted nor tortured her. On the contrary, if it were not for my intervention, she would have been left to die by those who used her," the black mage explained as if what she had said was common knowledge.  
  
"Oh, and what about them!?!" the blond continued to shout as gestured towards the other birds. "Did you just happen to save their lives too by cursing them to live as birds!?!"  
  
"They were murders, tyrants, and thieves who raped and pillaged where ever they went. They were given to me to deal with after their rampage had been stopped. I felt that this curse was a far more useful deterrent to maladaptive behavior then death." Filia's hands slowly released the cold woman as the words began to sink in. Lina scooted away from the white bird.  
  
"Murderers, tyrants and thieves?" Amelia inquired timidly.  
  
Destiny nodded. "That particular one on your arm was known as the butcher. After plundering a village, he would rape all the young adult females, kill them, and eat them." Amelia yelped and leaped away while brushing the turquoise bird off her shoulder. "He can not hurt you in his current form and I can easily control him if he tries to harm anyone. I only allow them to have their original forms when they are useful, such as..."  
  
A blood curdling high pitched squeal cut Destiny off. A few second later, the little blond girl came racing back over the hill. She dove under Filia's skirt and wrapped herself around the dragon woman's leg. Filia yelped as she did this. The girl's whole body shook, and her tail was between her legs. The child's ghost white face was locked in a look of absolute horror. The girl was panting. Small whimpers came out with every short exhale. Simply put, she was terrified.  
  
"Ah! What happened!?! What's up there!?!" Lina demanded.  
  
"Is it a monster!?!" Filia cried.  
  
"The giant frog man again!?!" Amelia yelled.  
  
"Big...bad...furry...SPIDER!!!!!!!!!!" the girl screeched while pointing at the hill. She buried her face against Filia's leg.  
  
Everyone turned their gaze over at the top of the hill where a little spider was climbing up in it's web to wrap up a fly. "Arachnophobic?" Lina asked lamely.  
  
"Must be," Zel sighed.  
  
Gourry scratched his head. "What's acne fobic?"  
  
"Arachnophobic," Filia corrected as she peered down at the child who was clamped on her leg. She pulled her skirt up a little to get a better look. "It means she afraid of spiders."  
  
The blond swordsman glanced up at the spider ahead and then at the child. "Your afraid of that little spider?"  
  
"Not little spider, not little spider!" the girl insisted.  
  
Everyone stared down at the child. A sinking feeling crawled in to Amelia's stomach and she couldn't help but look back. "What spider then?" Zel questioned the girl.  
  
"The big spider!"  
  
The princess started tapping the chimera on the shoulder. "Ah, Mr. Zelgadiss..."  
  
"Not now Amelia," he grunted as he brushed her hand away. "Now, what big spider?"  
  
"The big one!" the child cried.  
  
Amelia turned her attention to Lina. "Miss Lina..." she started in a more desperate tone.  
  
"In a minute, alright," the sorceress grumbled.  
  
"But, Miss Lina..."  
  
"I said in a minute!"  
  
"Where's the big spider?" Zel demanded as he patience began to wear down.  
  
"Right there," Amelia squeaked.  
  
The group spun around just as a large spider came creeping around over the hill. The creature looked to be between ten and fifteen feet tall. It was covered in dark brown fur with black legs. It's hundreds of red eyes stared at group as it made a quick approach.  
  
Dirt and rocks were kicked up as everyone scrambled to get out of the way. Well, Filia more hobbled since the child would not let go of her leg. Lina, Zel, and Amelia powered up spells while Gourry pulled out his sword and Filia struggled to get out of the way with the little blond on her leg. Lina shot her fireball spell off. The spell fizzled just as it went close to the spider. "What the hell!?!" Lina cried. "No, not again!!"  
  
"What!?!" Amelia cried in alarm as her spell failed as well.  
  
Zelgadiss kept conjuring up spells but none of them would hit the creature. "Damn! Why aren't they working!?"  
  
"Destiny, can...Destiny?" Lina glanced around but there was no sign of the woman. "Where'd she go?!" Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the spider swing one of its legs towards her. Instinctually, she tried to levitate but nothing happened. The spider smacked her in the side and sent the red head flying back. Gourry dashed after her and caught the small woman while yelling her name. She was vaguely aware of his voice as she struggled to get air back in her lungs.  
  
As soon as he was sure she was pretty much alright, Gourry glared at the spider that had turned its attention on hitting Zel. The chimera was too fast for the creature but he hadn't been able to land a blow on it. Gourry clenched the handle of his sword. That thing had hurt Lina. That thing had hurt his Lina. Sure, it may have just knocked the wind out of her, but still, no one was allowed to hurt her. Now it had to die.  
  
The spider shrieked and jerked one of its legs back. Black liquid seeped from an injury on the arachnid's leg. The creature whirled around, kicking Zel in to a bush, and stared at the attacker. A man a little taller then Gourry stood before the monstrosity. He looked young and was very thin. His skin was as dark as mahogany and the hair that came down to his waist was the color of charcoal. Just in front of his right elven ear was a braid with a red piece of cloth woven in to it. The braid had been cut short so it ended just a little past his shoulder. He wore plain gray blue clothes with a some leather shoulder and knee guards, gloves, and a breast plate over it. His tattered cape ended at thigh level and had several spots where holes had been sewn up. In each hand he held a long blade. One had some of the spider's blood on it.  
  
The new guy smiled sheepishly at the spider. "Hey, yo spider, how's it goin' there?" The spider snapped at the black haired man, but he deftly jumped back. "Ah, co'mon, can't we be friends?" The creature ran towards him and tried again to clamp its fangs on him. He jumped aside with amazing dexterity. "Yeah, guess not." He dodged out of the reach of the spider several more times as he led it back up the hill. "That's right, that's right," he encouraged with a confident smile, "This way my friend."  
  
"Who is that?" Lina asked, now that she had recovered and was breathing normally again. Gourry shrugged.  
  
"Another one of Destiny's birds?" Zel suggested while he climbed out of the brush. He was sure he recognized the voice. He knew he had heard it before, but he couldn't remember where.  
  
"Didn't she say they were rapists, murderers, and thieves?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Then why would he help us?"  
  
"He was ordered to do so?" Amelia suggested.  
  
"Hey! Hey!! Stay back ya beast!" the new man cried. The others ran up to the top of the hill to see what was going on. The road made a sudden drop in to a shallow, barren gorge. The area was wide enough in one part of it for a dozen of the spiders to fit comfortably. The spider had the black haired man pinned against one of the walls. "I said keep back!" he cried while waving one of the swords at it. The spider bit down on the blade and snapped it in half. He frowned and an nervous look took over his earlier fearless expression. "This makes things more difficult."  
  
The arachnid tried to bite him again. He held up the his other sword so the edge was out towards the creature. He dropped the broken hilt and placed his hand behind the blade so it wouldn't be forced back and hurt him. The spider slammed its face in to the edge. He grimaced. The creature jerked back and let out a high pitched whine. A small trickle of blood dripped from the hand the young man had against the blade. He pulled the blade back and more blood came out of his palm. He clutched it tight and focused on attacking the spider. One of the creature's front legs swung around and slapped the other blade to the ground, yanking the black haired man with it. The man tried to pull the sword out and the second blade broke. He glanced at the second hilt with eyes as wide as saucers. His chocolate colored irises gazed up at the spider. "Well this sucks."  
  
(Oh, yeah a new chapter done. I think things are finally beginning to come together... well, make a little more sense anyway. I don't think everything has quite come together yet. There's still a lot not known yet, even by me. I almost feel sorry for that poor guy... almost. Thank you to all the people who have reviewed so far. I love hearing what you people think. As always, feel free to leave a few of your comments.) 


	16. Spider Hunting

The young man gulped. He muttered a small prayer under his breath asking for it to be quick and painless. The spider's pincers flexed so they could grab him in one strike. It jerked back as two more swords cut in to its legs. Zel and Gourry dodged back when it tried to kick them. The distraction gave the new guy a chance to escape. He darted out of the way, grabbing the sword hilts as he made a run for it. The man darted around next to the other two. He held out the blades as if they were still whole.  
  
"Alright," the black haired man said, "Let's kick some spider butt."  
  
"And how exactly do you purpose we do that?" Zel asked skeptically.  
  
"Very carefully?" he asked with a sheepish grin. The chimera glared at him. "What?"  
  
"I know who you are..."  
  
"I don't think that you do," the young man broke in. "I really don't think that you do." The spider slammed down two of its feet, trying to crush the swordsmen. They all jumped aside in different directions. The dark skinned man bounded up on to a rock. He closed his eyes concentrating for a moment. He opened them and cursed under his breath. "Damn it! How exactly does she expect me to take this thing on with no swords, no power, and trapped in this wimpy little human body?!" His eyes darted around frantically for a moment. The stopped as he glanced past the woman still standing on the edge of the gorge. "Oh Kendra, I could use some HELP!" he snapped. "An' yer too big to be hiding behind that tree! An' ya don't fit under her skirt!"  
  
Confused, Lina and Amelia turned around. Words failed them. A young golden dragon was cowering behind one of the trees with her hands clasped over her eyes. She was just a little bigger then the spider. Her golden tail with the purple bow and spade was still between her legs. The hair on her head was a rich amethyst color, instead of blonde like most golden dragons. Filia was sitting among the mass of amethyst hair with a bewildered look of her face.  
  
"And when did this happen?" Lina demanded.  
  
"Just a minute ago," Filia replied. "She just suddenly transformed."  
  
"Kendra!" the dark haired guy shouted. "Quite actin' like a helpless hatchling and HELP! Yer bigger then it! You can take it on!"  
  
The young dragon shook her head back and forth while Filia held on. "No! No! No! No! No! No! Bad spider! No spider! No help!"  
  
He jumped aside, avoiding another attack from the spider. The man bounced back and scrambled up the side of the gorge. He darted over to the dragon child's face and gently stroked her snout. "I know your scared, sweet, but ya gotta help us. We can't do it without your help, babe."  
  
"I don't like spiders!" she cried.  
  
He glanced up at Filia and motioned for her to get off. The former priestess slide down and looked over at the child in concern. He looked over towards the other girls and gestured for them to move as well. The exchanged curious glances, but shrugged and did so. The man straightened his posture and tucked one of the hilts back in its scabbard. Then, he calmly walked over to the side of the young dragon and tapped his fingers along her side in a slow, rhythmic pattern. "Oh no, look out for that wolf spider on your side, Kendra!" he yelled.  
  
The dragon girl let out and horrifying screech and dashed towards the gorge. She didn't really watch where she was going. The man snagged hold of her tail which was now stretched out behind her. She tumbled down in to the gorge. Her path was taking her in the direction of the giant arachnid. She slammed her feet in to the ground. Her body came to a screeching halt. The man used the momentum of her sudden stop to go flying towards the spider. She made a sharp turn and ran for it. So caught up in her panic, the young dragon didn't pay attention to where she was going. She suddenly tripped over a stone and went tumbling head first in to a cave on the side of the gorge.  
  
The man slammed in to the face of the spider beast. Wasting no time, he leaped on to its back. The spider squealed as it started turning in circles to get this man off. Unfortunately for it, he couldn't be reached. He clung on to the creature's furry back. The dark skinned man prepared to stab the creature with the snapped blade. He paused as his eyes came across something small and golden embedded in the beast's fur. The man tucked the hilt away and grabbed the object to examine it. An evil grin spread across his face. He released his hold on the creature and leaped off out of it's reach, taking the golden object with him. He flickered his attention towards the red head still standing on the edge of the gorge. "Lina, dragon slave it!" he yelled.  
  
"What!?! I already tried a spell! It didn't work, remember!?!" she screamed back.  
  
"It'll work now!"  
  
"And how do you know?" Zelgadiss demanded while he and Gourry continued to try and attack the spider.  
  
"Just trust me! It will!"  
  
Lina sighed. There was no hurt in trying. She took a deep breath, and began chanting. "Power beyond twilight, crimson beyond blood that flows." Gourry, Zel, and the new guy quickly scuttled out of the gorge. They knew better then to be near that thing when the spell went off. "Buried in the stream of time is where your power grows. I pledge myself to conquer all the foes who stand before the mighty gift bestowed in my unworthy hand... DRAGON SLAVE!" Burning energy erupted from her hands and shot out towards the spider. Fiery magic consumed the area, destroying everything and making the gorge even deeper. When the power faded, nothing was left of the spider. "It worked? It worked! Ha! Nothing can stand in the way of the mighty Lina Inverse!" the red cheered. Her cheering stopped abruptly and she glared at the dark man. He grinned sheepishly. Lina stomped over to him while the poor man stumbled back. She growled as she got ready to pounce on him. "How did you know that would work?"  
  
The man held up his golden treasure: a medallion with a rune engraved in to it. "Magic blocker. Makes it so one can't use or be harmed by magic. Handy if ya can't use magic, horrible if ya can," he hastily explained. "Spider musta eaten someone with one and got it stuck on him."  
  
Lina was just about to jump him and demand how he knew that when they heard a wail from inside the rock. Everyone glanced over the side of the gorge and saw the young golden dragon's back half sticking out the side of the wall. Her cries were echoing off the walls inside the cave she had crashed in to. She was desperately trying to pull herself out but her feet only slipped along the bottom and sides of the gorge.  
  
"Oh great," the dark skinned man sighed. "Yeah, this is just what I need..."  
  
  
  
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(Yes! Only two more chapter left in this fic! This series is about halfway done! Thanks to all who have read and reviewed so far. Angel of Tears, thanks for pointing out the blond/blonde thing. I know it's a French word, but I really can't speak any of the language. You would happen to know how to spell the name of a male waiter, would you? I know it's pronounced gar- son, but I can't find the correct spelling anywhere. *sighs* stupid spell checker...doesn't even know the word teleport...well, now it does, but not when I started writing this story.  
  
The next one wont be and the next story (which I'm already working) will be really funny. I'll give you more details when I put the next chapter...when I finally get it to sound right to me. Oh, and if anyone was curious, there are about 20 different versions of the Dragon slave spell out there. I just recently watched some of the early episodes to catch the words, and I noticed they kept changing for a while in both the sub and dubbed versions. Does the spell have other forms? Do different words do different damage? Are there short cuts to the dragon slave? *shrugs* your guess is as good as mine. Ta ta for now.) 


	17. Put That Monster Down!

"That poor child!" Filia cried. She wasted no time in going down in to the shallow pit. She rushed up to the girl and gently stroked the child's side. "It's okay, it's okay," she replied calmly but loud enough for the girl to hear. "I'll get you out..."  
  
"Duorue!" the child wailed. "Duorue!"  
  
The man dropped down and approached the dragon girl. He brushed his gloved hands along her side while letting out a purr from deep within his throat. "Hush, hush, baby. I'm still here. I know, your scared, but sit still for a moment and we'll get you out, alright?"  
  
"Okay," she whimpered.  
  
"That's a good girl. Just be brave for a little while, just like you were for me before," he purred in reassurance.  
  
Filia watched the display in shock. "You're a dragon," she whispered.  
  
"Yes, and I believe that's what you called me before..."  
  
"Your one of the murderers!" Filia snapped. The man stopped purring. "I suppose your the one who used her and left her to die!?!"  
  
"Ah..."  
  
"You demon! How dare you call yourself a dragon! Any dragon who commits atrocities such as yours has no right to call himself a member of the dragon race!"  
  
"So says the lady who's race slaughtered anyone more powerful then them." Filia suddenly fell silent. "Can't deny it, can you? You know what your people did. I know what your people did. Everyone knows what you golds did. And your right, I have no right to call myself a dragon; I never participated in genocide. I don't condone things like genocide. He, everything I've ever done pales in comparison to the things your people did." He let his hands fall from the young dragon's side. His gaze had turned away from the older dragon. His voice became low and mournful, dark yet not in any way evil. "And just so you know, we did not leave her to die. We did everything we could to keep her alive from the moment we found her. It was your people who left her to die. Interesting how they're always trying to kill that which they never understood." He glanced up at the others. "Hey! Are you gonna come down here and help get her out or not!?!"  
  
"I can get her out!" Filia snapped as her voice started coming back to her. "Just...just turn around!" He eyed her suspiciously, but did as he was told. The others on the edge of the gorge, who already knew what she was going to do, turned around as well. Filia touched her hands to the blue jewel that rested at the base of her neck. A bright light surrounded her as her body morphed in to its natural form. Her blond hair waved slightly in the breeze. When she was done, the others turned back around. The first thing they noticed was Filia was a good four times bigger then the trapped dragon child.  
  
"Hey, um, I have a question," Amelia spoke up. The others turned towards her. "Why doesn't she...um, Kendra, isn't it?" The man nodded. "Well, why doesn't she just turn in to a human again? She should be able to get out like that."  
  
"She's too little," Filia explained. "She probably doesn't have any control over her transformations yet."  
  
"Can't transform period, actually," the dark man corrected. "Neither of us can. Destiny's got complete control over that. That demon is out here somewhere enjoying watching this. It's how he gets his daily amusement, I'm sure." He sighed heavily as if he were exhausted. "Just pull her out already."  
  
Filia nodded and grabbed the girl's legs. The other dragon backed off while she did this. The former priestess gave several good tugs before Kendra popped out. They tumbled back, shaking the area as they hit the ground. After several moments, Kendra stood and shook off. She brushed away any dirt on her scales with one hand before scuttling over to the dark haired man.  
  
Kendra plopped down in front of him and held her hand out to him. There was a small cut on her palm yet no blood came out. "It hurts," she explained. "Make it better."  
  
He examined the wound and smiled. "Ah, it's just a scratch, babe. It's not even bleeding, see? The stinging will go away in a second."  
  
~~~~~  
  
The first thing Xellos saw when he found his normal traveling group and materialized was a very curious Filia in dragon form. It didn't take long for him to spot the second golden dragon and a third dragon in human form. His aura suggested he was a black dragon, though not a very old one. The young gold dragon had a strange aura around her, suggesting she was possibly part something else, though he couldn't be sure what that was.  
  
Xaina, who was sitting on her teacher's shoulders, titled her head to one side and blinked several times. "Where'd the other dragons come from?" she asked.  
  
"I'm not sure. Are you adopting more children, Filia?" he inquired. The dragon woman jumped when she heard her name. She hadn't even noticed him.  
  
"You!" the black dragon roared. Xellos turned his attention back to the young man. "Dragon slayer!" he accused. Xellos flinched at his nickname. It was one of the things he hated to be called. "I'll kill you!"  
  
"Dragon slayer?" the neko monster inquired. Her question was ignored, though.  
  
The man reached for the hilts of his swords and yanked them out. The blades had both been broken in half. He stared at his swords for several moments then smiled rather sheepishly. "Oh, yeah. I broke them. Oops." He frowned for a moment, then smiled again. He shrugged. "Ah, I'm already dead. What've I got to lose? Besides, I'm sober this time!" He stared at Xellos and sneered. "Come on, ya coward! Face me!"  
  
Xellos snickered. The hate radiating off this man was certainly an interesting taste. It tasted mostly like any other hateful emotion, except that it was laced with a little self righteousness which gave it a slightly bitter taste. "You want to fight me?" The man nodded while taking up a fighting stance. "You don't even have a weapon."  
  
"Hey, now I've got two of 'um right here. Sure, they're broken, but at least I got 'um."  
  
'Idiot,' the monster couldn't help but think. This young dragon was going to throw his life if they got in to a real fight. The question why he would do something so foolish came to mind. Dragons weren't normally this reckless. Now, what did he mean by sober THIS time? Had they fought before... 'Wait! Did he say he was dead?!' Xellos peeked one eye open. A sudden burst of immense happiness caught his attention. Who had suddenly become so happy? He glanced up at the young golden dragon. It was her. 'Why...' His thoughts were cut off as she suddenly reached down and grabbed Xellos. Xaina teleported back just in time to avoid being grabbed as well. The next thing the trickster knew, he was trapped in the death lock of a young dragon and cuddled like he was some sort of favorite toy.  
  
"What the hell?" Lina grunted.  
  
"Ahhh!! Put him down!!!" Filia and the black dragon cried at the same time.  
  
"Kendra! Let 'im go! He's dangerous!" the dragon man ordered.  
  
"But..." the young gold started to protest.  
  
"Now!"  
  
The child's grip on Xellos suddenly, much to monster's horror, tightened. "No!" Kendra barked.  
  
"Kendra, sweetheart, please let go," Filia begged softly as she stepped closer to the child.  
  
Kendra jumped to her feet and trotted to the other side of the gorge. "No!"  
  
"You have to put him down," Filia continued, though she kept her distance this time.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because I'm gonna wipe the dirt with him! Now drop him, sweet," the black dragon ordered, who, for all his boasting, still looked human. If he hadn't been so caught up in trying to squeeze out of the girl's grip (which he was beginning to think he would need the jaws of life to get out of), he might have wondered why the black dragon hadn't transformed.  
  
"No!" Kendra persisted. "You can't have 'im!" She nuzzled her nose against the monster and closed her lavender eyes. Xellos struggled even harder to get free. This whole thing was starting to make him sick. "He's mine an' Xayxay's!"  
  
"Damn it! Where's that mongrel when ya need her!?!"  
  
"You can't have him," the girl persisted, though this time her voice was quieter.  
  
Seeing that he wasn't going to able to force his way out of her grasp so easily, Xellos started devising a new plan. (Even I'm wondering why he doesn't just teleport out.)  
  
Xaina floated over to the young dragon. She reached out and gave the other child a small pat. "Your name's Kendra, right?" The dragon child peeked open her eyes and nodded. "Hi, I'm Xaina," she introduced with a smile similar to Xellos'.  
  
"Aren't you bigger?" Kendra inquired.  
  
The neko monster opened her eyes back up and frowned. "Uh, no. I'm usually just this size, though I was smaller once."  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"I'm sure."  
  
"Positive?" Xaina nodded. "Absolutely positive?"  
  
"Absolutely positive."  
  
"Oh...cuz I thought you looked bigger..."  
  
"That's cuz you were itty bitty," the dragon man called out. "She looks smaller now because your bigger."  
  
"Oh... Are you sure?"  
  
"Please don't start that again," he moaned. The dragon man slapped a hand over his eyes and slumped his shoulders. His head suddenly shot back up. A few seconds later, a black light surrounded him and a golden light surrounded Kendra. Two beams of light shot off their bodies and past the others. Kendra and the black dragon became birds...again. The golden amulet the man had been holding dropped to the ground.  
  
Everyone glanced back to see Destiny standing behind them with an outstretched hand. Resting neatly in her palm where a pair of stones that matched the colors of the birds she had changed. She tucked them back under her cape while Dragon and Outcast joined Prince and Monster in one of the trees. The cold, empty eyes turned to the slayers. "Shall we go then?" she asked her monotoned voice.  
  
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Isn't Kendra cute? I have so much fun with her character. Destiny sure makes my skin crawl sometimes. She's so cold and emotionless. Well, the spider is gone, the birds are birds again, and things are looking like they're normal again...well, as normal as it ever get's with this group.Oh, I'd like to apologize for the absolute weirdness in my last comments. I was real tired when I wrote it.  
  
Well, as promised, a little info on the next story. It will be called Golden Dragon Dance. (I bet you can guess who it focuses on). It should be interesting when I get it posted up. I'm going to try to have the first chapter done and put it up at the same time I put the last chapter on this fic up.  
  
Oh, I have 49 reviews! If I get just one more I'll have 50!! I'm so excited! Thank you so so so much for reviewing. *bows to everyone* Without you I wouldn't have bothered continuing writing this fic. Well, on to finishing up the last chapter and writing the next fic. Bye for now. 


	18. I don't Like This Prophacy

Destiny sat meditating a few feet away from the group. The others were huddled together whispering so she wouldn't hear. Every now and again, one or two of them would glance over at the icy woman just to be sure she wasn't listening.  
  
"So what are we suppose to do then?" Amelia questioned.  
  
"I don't know yet," Lina replied. "We still don't know what she wants..."  
  
"Assuming that Destiny is a she," Zelgadiss interrupted. The others glanced over at him curiously. "Just before Amelia and I left Saillune, we found two of Destiny's birds, Dragon and Prince. Not long afterwards, two men broke in to the castle. I tried to catch them, but they managed to get away. Not before I heard them, though. That man sounded just like one of them."  
  
"What!" Amelia cried.  
  
"Shhhhhh!!!!" the others all broke in at once. The princess slapped a hand over her mouth to keep herself quiet.  
  
"As I was saying," the chimera continued in a whisper, "I heard them talking about their master. At the time, they referred to their master as a 'he'. While Dragon was talking to us, he again referred to his master as being male."  
  
"So Destiny is a guy?" Gourry asked.  
  
"Maybe."  
  
"But she looks like a girl..." Xaina argued.  
  
"In body yes," Xellos interrupted. "In spirit, perhaps not."  
  
Lina raised a curious eyebrow. "In spirit?"  
  
"She doesn't give off any emotions. Nor does she have an aura. The body, at least, is that of the dead." The others gasped. "It is possible that the spirit, or soul if you prefer, is male."  
  
"If she's dead, then how...?"  
  
"That is a secret," Xellos responded with a wag of his finger.  
  
The sorceress growled but let his comment go without a fight. "Alright, let's assume Destiny is dead and just a spirit; what does she want with us?"  
  
"Your child, I imagine," Zel sighed.  
  
"Why?" The chimera remained quiet. "She seems to going to a great deal of trouble to make sure I'm not hurt. If she just wanted to kill it then she would have just killed me straight out."  
  
Gourry's features turned from confusion to terror in the blink of an eye. "She want's to do what to you and our baby!?!"  
  
The petite sorceress punched the blond in the shoulder. "Keep your voice down, bait for brains!"  
  
"No one is killing anyone," Filia stated.  
  
"I wouldn't be to sure about those birds," Amelia shivered. The thought of what Prince had done sent chills up and down her spine. as a bird, he had seemed so nice. Even if what Destiny had said was a lie, it was hard not to be effect by her words.  
  
"That is assuming that Destiny was telling the truth," the former priestess pointed out. "That man didn't seem like a rapist, murderer, or thief. He... he was..."  
  
"If he was breaking in to palaces, he had to have at least been a thief," Zel grunted. "He did mention going in and out of castles several times when I overheard him, and what I'm guessing was also prince."  
  
"Even so..."  
  
"Hey guys," Lina interrupted as a thought suddenly occurred to her. "Remember when that frog monster teleported us?" They nodded. "Well, didn't the girl who saved us look just like Xaina, except older?"  
  
The monster child scratched her head. "Who looked like me?"  
  
"Yeah, that's right," Amelia replied. "You don't think...?"  
  
"I do," Lina responded before the princess could finish. "I bet those birds are the one's from the prophecy... well, three of them, anyway. Obviously Kendra isn't. That other guy, though, admitted he was a dragon and from his color, I'd say he's probably a black dragon."  
  
"Kendra could be," Filia sighed. "I think she was only half dragon. Something he said made it sound like she was. Most half breeds are..." she trailed off. The blonde didn't have to finish for everyone to know what she meant. "One of them was a partial demon. Kendra could be that."  
  
"Maybe." Everyone fell quiet once again. "Seems like every time we get an answer for something, we're always left with more questions."  
  
"It always seems like that," Zel agreed. The others nodded. "For the moment, I'd say the only thing we can be sure of is that we can't let our guard down around her."  
  
They all turned their gaze over to Destiny. She was still meditating. The birds were starting to doze off on one of the branches. Xaina clutched closer to Xellos. "I don't like this prophecy," the child whimpered.  
  
"You're not the only one," the trickster whispered as he scooped her up in his arms.  
  
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Alright, the last chapter is done. And I got over 50 reviews! Thank Lauren- Sama who was my 50th reviewer! And thank you Minimerc and badgerwolf who were 51 and 52. Your reviews just make my world go round (well, not really, but I love to know what you people think). What did ya guys thing? Like it? I'm having way to much fun with the birds. Next fic, I promise I'll introduce Prince and Monster and let them get a little more in to the spot light. (Well, more then just Prince yelling at Dragon while they're naked in the Saillune gardens). Anyway, the new fic is up and it's called Golden Dragon Dance. Feel free to start in on that one too. My goal for it is to get 60 reviews since I got 50 on this one. (My original goal for this fic was just 30 and you've all long since beaten that.) Ta ta for now. 


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